Misplaced Emotions

I. Introduction: There has been much emphasis in mainstream denominations and large liberal churches on manipulating worship to give a religious experience. Appeals to emotion are made to make one feel spiritual. Is this wrong? What part does emotion have in our worship?

II. Disturbing trends

A. Changes in music

B. Hand clapping Special musical groups/solos/choirs

C. Changes to worship

D. Lifting up hands Dramatic plays Dramatic events (ie., church would close eyes while certain members would sound out sounds of the crucifixion)

E. Trends are introduced to spice up worship.

F. ” We come together every Sunday, mumble a few songs, words some monotone prayers, and preach sermons—we bore one another for an hour and call it worship.” An advocate for the ” contemporary” worship

G. Hollywood trained culture

H. Even secular education in our schools has to be ” fun” and entertaining or the students won’t listen and learn.

I. Yet, knowledge is worse now than in previous generations where the fundamentals were drilled (Latin studied, math, etc.) Look at the English and grammar skills of many youth in email. Study this week showed the POOR knowledge that children had of American History.

J. All the edutainment, but the schools aren’t learning.

K. The problem is: learning is work, it is not, by its nature, fun!

L. Churches are being drawn into this same philosophy.

M. People feel that when they come to church or to Bible class, they must be entertained.

N. People feel that Bible study has to be fun to learn.

O. It is very enjoyable to those who truly love it. To imply that it must be spiced up to be appealing is to claim that it lacks something in its current form. However, the problem is not in the Bible, but in the individuals approaching the Bible.

P. We focus on what we love, whether it is entertaining or not if we truly love it.

Q. A history buff will spend hours reading detailed history books that will cause some to fall asleep on the first page. Why? Someone can read article after article on fish bait, worm colors, and rods and reels that would not interest another. Why? Ever go to a sporting event with someone that really doesn’t know much about the game but went because everyone else went? They seem only casually interested. Why?

R. If we truly love and enjoy something, we will gladly read and study about it whether the information is made fun or not.

S. The knowledge of what we love has its own joy.

T. Our senses have been trained to enjoy it.

U. Ever eat sushi? (Costs more than cooked fish) I never thought I would eat sushi. Then I married a girl born in Japan. I cultivated a taste for something that is revolting to others. If we truly enjoy serving God, we will not need it spiced up to appeal to us.

III. Emotions are irrelevant to proper worship.

A. Acceptable worship

B. Acceptable worship has God as its focus, Jn 14:23. Acceptable worship is authorized by God, 1 Cor. 14:40; Hebrews 12:28. Acceptable worship is offered from the heart, Eph. 5:19; 1 Cor. 14:15

C. Acceptable worship is noted by its acceptability to God, not us.

D. Consider Abraham offering Isaac - it was acceptable but not much fun for Abraham or Isaac. Were the sacrifices of the Old Testament fun? Acceptable worship is work.

E. Unacceptable worship

F. Unacceptable worship is man made and, therefore, vain, Matt. 15:9. Unacceptable worship is offered in ignorance, not truth, Acts 17:23. Will worship is wrong because it supplants God’s will, Colossians 2:23 Will worshippers will not work to worship properly but desire to be spectators who feel good.

G. One can worship unacceptably in several ways (most from Dave Miller)

H. Right forms/wrong heart

I. Pharisees - Matthew 23:3 Ananias/Sapphira - Acts 5:2-4

J. Wrong form/sincere heart

K. David - 2 Samuel 7:1-8 Paul - Acts 22:3; 23:1 Cornelius - Acts 10:1-6 (he was still lost)

L. Wrong actions regardless of the heart

M. Nadab and Abihu - Leviticus 10:1-3 Sabbath breaker - Numbers 15:32-36 Moses - Numbers 20:11-12.

N. Acceptable worship must be in truth and with a proper heart.

IV. What part does emotion have?

A. With some religious groups, strong emotions are the goal.

B. Tears, joy, and bliss are a show of validation. Ecstatic feeling shows that God is with us and has accepted us.

C. Do emotions validate our worship—show that God has accepted us?

D. Many religious groups use emotional ecstasy to show God’s approval.

E. Mormons say that emotions will validate the Book of Mormon.

F. Studied with some Mormons. Read it and pray. If you feel good, then it is the testimony of the Spirit. I can feel good emotions about bad things. I have felt bad emotions about good things that I had to do. Emotions are a very poor meter for determining truth. Acts 26:25 (speak truth and reason; Festus felt bad about a good thing!)

G. Pentecostals say that the emotional feeling is God within them.

H. They will use their feelings to validate their practices. Example of the girl from Florence, using Mormon validation. Pagans use emotions to show that their gods are with them. It is very easy to whip up an emotional frenzy; entertainment industry does it all the time with music, mood lighting, etc. The Bible never told us to believe because of sensuality.

I. Does the fact that something appeals to us mean that God will accept it?

J. David and Nathan: 2 Samuel 7:1-8 - God was not pleased. Matthew 15:1-3: Hand washing (transgress by tradition)

K. If worship is designed to our feelings, it begins at the wrong place.

L. If the focus is on the worshipper, he may ” experience religion” but he did not worship God. He gave lip service to God. Denominational friend who worked in the music department of a church said, ” It seems that everything is focused on entertainment and showcasing someone’s talent and not worshipping God.” Hmm.

M. Warm emotions and elation are by-products of true worship to God!

N. If we do what God has commanded with the right heart it will please Him and should give us joy. If God’s way does not give us joy, but bores us, where might the problem be?

O. The problem in the religious world is that instead of examining one’s self to see why God’s worship is not causing us joy, we change the worship.

P. The schools are changing and the children aren’t learning. Society is not concerned with the truth or reason (too boring) but quick fixes (dim the lights, hold hands, make a show that even Naaman would love [” Behold I thought the prophet would call on the name of the Lord and wave his hand all over the place” but no]) We are lazy: Presidential debates - No thanks; sound bites - absolutely!

V. Conclusion: Emotion is very important but it is never the goal. We should assemble with joyful hearts (” I rejoiced when they said let’s go to the house of the Lord”), singing joyfully, praying fervently (denotes emotion), gladly receiving the word of God (The Thessalonians received the word with joy amid afflictions 1 Thess 1:6). Emotional joy is what we contribute, what we bring, not what we come to receive. If you have no joy in worship check your bags, you forgot to bring it with you.