Serving the Master First

Entering Into Worship with Reverence and Joy                                                                                               

Jody Tester

Maplegate Christian Fellowship

June 1, 2025

Is there a reason or method behind our approach to Sunday services?

·       Announcements > Praise and Worship > Sermons > Ministry

·       At MCF, any alignment with such liturgy is/should be accidental…except that it follows a scriptural pattern and is led by Holy Spirit

Where do we find such a pattern in scripture?

·       Best found in I Cor 14:26  “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done …properly and “in order” (vs 40)…hmm 

·       This passage identifies the contents or ingredients found in a New Testament gathering of believers, but not much is said about the ordering of such contributions

Hoping to shed some light on this topic –

[Read] Luk 17:3-10: Increase our faith! Which of you having a slave…

The disciples place a demand on Jesus

Background: Mat 14, 15,16: Jesus had been ministering for a long time. Exhausted, or at least tired…His life spent on others?

He finds time for one more lesson before He responds to the disciples’ demand

And then Master responds (my paraphrase...)

Don’t forget that I’m the Master here, and I’m to be fed first

Couldn’t you show some compassion for My Me, for My needs?

God the Father is our Abba…our Daddy…our Poppa God

Jesus is our Savior, our Brother; our Shepherd

Holy Spirit is our Guide and Source of Power

Amazing relationship with the triune God. But can we discard Reverence in favor of sloppy Christianity; one that forgets He is the Potter and we are the Clay? (Rom 9:21).

We have been made priests, after all, in God’s Kingdom, and are called to act as such...

·       1Pe 2:5  you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

·       1Pe 2:9  But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 

OT Priesthood involved a variety of sacrifices; a certain order to serving God

·       Common thread: Feeding the Master first. A reminder for us under Grace…

Solomon’s Temple as a reference, consider Psa 100 (KJV):

·       A prophetic picture for today

[Read] Psa 100

·       First…what we’re to do

·       Second…how we’re to do it

Our Posture:

·       The Lord…He has made us; not the other way around

·       Shout joyfully, i.e. rejoice and praise His name

·       Serve Him (first)

Our Approach:

Enter His Gates

o   The Golden Gate; aka the Beautiful Gate

The entrance into the Outer Courts

Into His Courts with Praise

o   In the Outer Court we find the Alter of Sacrifice

We offer ourselves as a Living Sacrifice; humility before God

o   In the Outer Court we also find the Laver

Come to Him with a clean conscience and pure heart

Cleansed by the blood

Then we move into the Holy Place

o   At the Incense Altar we offer our Priestly “aroma” to God

We represent the Body of Christ, aligned to the purposes and plans of God

Thanksgiving

Praise

Prayers (think of The Lord’s Prayer example)

Finally, we find ourselves in the Holy of Holies

o   Having moved through the temple sections, we encounter the Holy of Holies, the place that was previously separated from the Holy Place by a Veil

The place of God’s presence

His Glory, the Cherubim, the Ark of the Covenant

His mercy; the Mercy Seat

·       Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations (KJV)

But a veil, or heavy curtain, separated the priests from God’s inner sanctum. The place of God’s very presence. The place where only the high priest could enter yearly.

This physical veil was torn “asunder” at Calvary; God no longer separated from each of us.

If we think we’re joyful about this veil being torn down, think about the Lord’s incredible joy at being able to finally be “in” His people, not just “with” them!

With the veil removed by the Lamb’s sacrifice at Calvary, our heart is now able to bridge the gap between our soul and spirit; the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, to commune with God in our innermost being.

But we must approach Yahweh on His terms…with Reverence and Awe

·       In humility

·       Purified by the blood

·       Offering sacrifices of praise

·       Worshipping in spirit and in truth (God is a Spirit)

This approach calls to mind the analogy between the physical temple of old and His new temples – each of us and His corporate temple…the Church

·       Those redeemed and indwelled by His Spirit. (1 Cor 3:16). We are the temple of God.

What are we commanded to do?

·       Love the Lord with all our Heart, Soul, and Strength.

Taken in reverse order (Strength, Soul (includes the Mind) and Heart (or spirit), we can create an overlay with believers as temples with the original temple structure in Jerusalem.

·       Strength: Body > Outer Court

·       Soul > Holy Place

·       Heart/Spirit > Holy of Holies

So, how are we to Praise and Worship Almighty God  under this new covenant?

Do the temple chambers and path from the entrance gate to the Holy of Holies suggest a kind of sequence for our praise and worship? A principle at least…?

Maybe…

1.      With our Body

a.      See Rom 12: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 

b.      Does it matter whether we Stand, Sit, Dance, Wave Flags, Kneel or Raise our Hands?

We’re told that it should be a “spiritual” service to God, not simply an exercise of the flesh

                 However, doesn’t it seem reasonable that we need to stir our bodies out of the malaise of a week in the dust of the world…to shake it off…and activate our praise and worship as the Outer Court of this new temple?

I struggled with this for some years, but see the importance of getting our Outer Court body properly aligned with God’s pattern for approaching Him in full surrender and adoration

                  At times, this can really be a sacrifice; to get our bodies in line and stirred for the Lord. Remember, the tongue…though a small member…can move our entire body. Life and death are in the power of the tongue

2.      With our Soul

a.      Praises lifted in the Holy Place; our very soul activated to praise the Lord

                 Luk 1:46 (Mary) “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

                 NLT “Oh how my soul praises the Lord!”

                 Psa 30:12  That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. 

                 Psa 119:175  Let my soul live that it may praise You

                 Psa 146:1 Praise the Lord O’ my soul

b.      Our soul: mind, will, emotions…can inhibit our entrance into the Holy of Holies, or it can propel us forward.

                  It’s a matter of will and surrender, not feelings

                 Our feelings follow our surrender; believe first, then see the kingdom

3.      With Our Spirit

a.      The “heart” of the matter. The place of true worship and communion with God

b.      “God is a spirit, and He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth” (Joh 4:24)

c.      Is praise the same as worship?

                  Praise appears to largely be an action of the soul

                  Worship appears to be largely an action of the spirit; our response to God’s holiness?

Where our innermost being communes in the innermost  chamber. Previously the physical Holy of Holies. Now, our heart, since we are the temple of God Himself

d.      To the Hebrew, worship was a posture; a prostrated body laid out before the Lord. A response to a holiness so great, no human expression could suffice.

                  2 Chr 5:2-14 the Ark placed in the temple, and the people’s reaction

The Master was served first…given His proper place

Vss 5-11 praise, then worship

So what does all this mean to us?

·       Our whole Body, Soul and Spirit is called to praise and worship the Lord

·       [See again Psa 100]

We serve the Master first (Luk 17).

·       Its tempting to always first load the Lord with our petitions. After all, its all about us…right?

·       Wrong

o   Its about Him. And the more we put Him first…serve Him first…the more we get the boomerang blessing. E.g. The Lord’s prayer.

There is a path to deep communion with God

o   Our bodies feel the effects of a corrupted world, but life and death are in the power of the tongue. And our ability to praise and worship may start with our ability to stir our bodies into active praise

o   Our soul can be beaten down, depressed, self-centered, cluttered with all kinds of thoughts from the days passed. But our soul was designed to make a sacrifice of praise. This sacrifice can unlock our experiencing God’s presence as we focus on Him rather than ourselves and our problems. We can’t let our souls be a veil that separates us from the Holy of Holies in our inner person.

o   Our spirit is God’s habitation; the Holy of Holies is in this new creation that is now His temple. Serve the Master first: body and soul, and we’ll be postured to encounter Him in true worship. But remember, our fickle heart can act like a curtain separating us from His intended presence.

This praise-worship path is a path of sacrifice that begins with aligning our body and soul, and then experiencing spiritual worship.

So, to come full circle, is there a reason we have a certain order of service on Sunday mornings?

·       We always say we desire to be led by Holy Spirit in all things. It would seem His leading is to have us serve the Master in praise and worship first, then have ministry time afterward.

·       A principle at least, if not a rigid structure for our gathering

Doesn’t that seem like good alignment with God’s plan for His priestly temples?

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