A Joyful Noise
A Sermon Preached from the Pulpit of
Tyger River Presbyterian Church
by Rev. Charlie Horne
January 1, 2012
Psalm 100
INTRODUCTION
We come to the beginning of a New Year, 2012; and we are together. The people of God known as Presbyterian Church gathered to worship. Did you ever consider what it means to worship? In the Scripture, we learn much about how we should worship and about what takes place in worship. For example, many Psalms begin with a shout of exclamation: Oh, come let us sing for joy to the Lord! Sing a new song to the Lord! Jehovah is King! Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Sing to the Lord, all the world! Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the lands! Certainly there is a sense of celebration, an excitement, and enthusiasm connected with worship.
Gordon Cosby, founding pastor of the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C., tells of an experience as a guest minister in a church in New England. The service was particularly dull and uninspiring. The only things that seemed to move were the offering plates. Gordon and his wife were depressed at the absence of life in that church. After the service they drove well into the evening. They stopped at a small wayside inn and took the only available room, which was located above the tavern. They did not get much sleep, but they were impressed by the sounds of laughter, happiness, and fellowship from the floor below them. Cosby was moved to say: I realized that there was more warmth and fellowship in that tavern than there was in the church we had visited. If Jesus of Nazareth had His choice He would probably have come to the tavern rather than to that church.
Now we don’t want to draw any hasty conclusions. Obviously all taverns aren’t that warm and friendly, nor all churches that cold and rigid. However, we must recognize that the Church is intended to be the warmest, the most satisfying, and the most accepting fellowship in existence. Also, it is good for the church to remember that in the name of Christ we have dared to say: Whosoever will, may We don’t have a preselected, screened fellowship. We have a church: male and female, rich and not as rich, liberal and conservative, pensive and emotional, old and young, educated and limited education, etc. Out of such diversity we come to worship: to Sing to the Lord …or to make a joyful noise. In worship we make sounds that can be HEARD, and in life movements that can be SEEN: singing, obeying, serving, and living for the Lord are all ways of expressing the joy found in worship.
BE HEARD
Joy! Now there is an interesting word.
Joy will (1) sneak up on you and (2) catch you off guard. It will (3) rise up inside of you and (4) overwhelm you.
So we wonder, what is this JOY of the Psalmist? Is joy a feeling? … an attitude?…a happening? Some people use the word and actually mean. So if you aren’t laughing or at least smiling, then some think that joy is missing from your life. So we must say, JOY IS NOT unrestrained hilarity or a constant state of giddiness that makes people think that you’re a phony. So what is joy? Well, some describe joy in the most sacred tones elevating joy to the level of a mystical experience which is indescribable. Yet, even as they talk we wonder why something so great is virtually impossible to describe. Perhaps joy would be easier to describe if we had some balance in our worship experience, if we had not been taught to be so serious and somber-faced in church. One time in church there was a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals or rummaging through his mother’s handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard everywhere: Stop that grinning! You’re in church! With that, she pinched his thigh. As he became very still and as the tears rolled down his cheeks she added, “That’s better,” and returned to her worship. In truth, most churches have allowed worship to become too heavy. After all our faith centers in the Cross, and that means pain and suffering and death. It doesn’t seem right to smile and seek joy in such an event. Also, the world is in such a mess, and life is grim for so many people. What would people think if we (1) smiled when we confessed our sins? Or if we (2) actually had a good time in Church? So ordinarily our worship has put great restrictions on our attempts to discover the joy described in the Psalms.
The JOY of the Psalms is (1) celebrating the entrance of True Love into the world. The Love that will never stop loving. The Love that seeks to break out of all who have received it and flood the world. Joy, real joy, is (2) confidence and faith in God, who has proven that He cares about each of us. It may mean that (3) we like getting up in the morning because the Lord has forgiven our sins and has promised to be with us. It may mean that (4) we see life as good and worthwhile and meaningful.
Without question, most of us have a ton of joy inside fighting to get out and be shared. The kind of joy that is demonstrated in warm actions and compassionate moments. This is a part of the special warmth kindled by the love of Christ and nurtured by fellowship with the Holy Spirit. This joy reminds us that there are so many good things waiting to happen to people who trust the Lord. Sing to the Lord is a deep expression of how we feel about the Lord, who has done so much. To Worship the Lord with joy is an appropriate attitude. To Come before Him with happy songs is an expected lifestyle.
BE ASSURED
Never forget that the Lord is God Creator, Owner, and Leader, says the Psalmist. Therefore, for personal discipline, inspiration, and challenge, we gather to WORSHIP the Lord, to express our deepest feelings about what God has kindled in our hearts. Our joy should be bursting forth. Unfortunately, this is not always true. I believe some of our struggle is because we have often allowed decently and in order to take precedence over the movement of the Holy Spirit. Often we have become so caught up in right doctrine tradition that we have lost our capacity to be spontaneous. In fact, even though many of us are yearning for a deep spiritual awakening, we resist all changes. The most modern business people and educators often want the church the way it has always been. So we tinker, not with the essence of worship, but with the mechanics. We write prayers, litanies, and creeds in an attempt to stir the release of what the Lord is kindling within us. In fact, believing that many of our worship traditions are the Biblical way, and burdened with our reluctance to change, we have failed to meet the needs of people who are turned„ off by what we call traditional worship. Therefore, we wonder: How can we bring together what we have experienced and the true Biblical experiences? That love our desire to bring new experiences to our worship.
Therefore, let me encourage you TO TRUST (1)the Holy Spirit within, and (2) the people called by God to lead us in worship and come voluntarily under the Lord’s power and guidance. As Christians, our covenant with Him is to (a) seek His Holy Presence, and (b) respond to His Ô Spirit.Ô Literally, this Psalm says that the Lord is the Shepherd and we are sheep in His pasture. I’ve always wanted a contemporary substitute for the Shepherd „ sheep analogy, but have never heard an excellent one. The reason for this is the depth of relationship between a Shepherd and his sheep: A shepherd leads them to food and water, protects them, cares for their every need. Also, the sheep know him and his voice, trust him without question, enjoy being with him, and follow him anywhere. Therefore, in life and in worship we are expected to look to Jesus, our Shepherd, in order to be obedient and to express our deepest feelings to the Lord: Our Creator, Owner, and Leader.
CONCLUSION
In the Psalm we read today, we are instructed to enter into His presence: with full hearts, giving thanks, shouting praises, and calling His Name Holy. So if we worship by expressing what He has kindled within us, we will have captured the essence of worship. Worship begins when we present ourselves completely into the Lord’s presence, and seek to be one with Him. More specifically, TO WORSHIP is (1) to erupt with what God is doing in you, (2) to share your faith and His love, (3) to express needs and receive answers, and finally, (4) to join others involved in similar expressions of thanksgiving and In WORSHIP WE SING TO THE LORD with a life that can be heard, a life of obedience and gladness, a life lived with a full and thankful heart, a life filled with joy, and a life shared in the world.
(Read Psalm 100!)
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