A Call to Worship

By Gobel Brockman


"The worship service." In some churches it may be nothing more than acapella singing. For others it may involve a piano and an organ. In some churches it may involve a full band with lights, top-of-the-line PA equipment, and fog machines. Regardless of the format, most churches refer to the music portion of the church service as "praise and worship." As a musician, I cannot put into words how much I enjoy singing and playing music in worship to the Lord. Whether it's at church or just in my little "man cave" at home, I love grabbing a guitar or standing behind a keyboard and "making melody unto the Lord." (Ephesians 5:19) Music is a great way to express thanks to God, pour out your heart to Him, lift a prayer, or express worship to God. May that grow and increase in our lives as individuals and when we meet together as the church. May we raise our song and our voices to God in worship.

But there's another aspect of worship I want to look at. In the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, even though they were well beyond the years of having children. The Bible says that "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." After many years God fulfilled his promise and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Then, a seemingly strange thing happened. In Genesis 22 God spoke to Abraham and told him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. The Bible says that early the next morning Abraham arose with Isaac and his servants and set out at once to the mountains of Moriah. As he arrived he said an interesting thing to his servants in Genesis 22:5:

"And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."

There are two things that stand out to me in that verse:

1) Abraham, knowing that he was on his way to offer his son as a sacrifice, said that he was going to "worship." He wasn't going there with a guitar strapped to his shoulder, he was going with a knife and a fire - and yet he said he was going to worship. What does that mean? It means he considered obedience to God as worship. It's one thing to sing "How Great Thou Art" when God gives us things, but how willing are we to worship when He asks us to give something up to Him?

2) Did you notice Abraham's words in verse 5? "The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE will come back to you." (Emphasis mine) Abraham was committed to obey God's command because He believed God's promise. God told Abraham that through Isaac his seed would be known. In Hebrews 11:19 the Bible says that Abraham went to that mountain believing that if necessary, God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham was able to "worship" God with Isaac because he was able to "trust" that God was faithful to His word about Isaac. 

I encourage us all to sing and make melody to the Lord - even if it's just a "joyful noise." I also encourage us all to walk in obedience to the Father's will, knowing that He always - ALWAYS - knows what He's doing. Even when we don't.

Worship and obedience go hand in hand - even up the mountain of sacrifice. May we truly worship the Lord today.