Experience Him! … a WOW Weekend Thought

Each weekend, I explore a little more of the WOW – ‘Woke on the Wonder’ of worship. This week, it is about being at the house of the Lord.

Part 2 (See last weekend’s post for part 1)

I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

Last weekend, we briefly saw three aspects of worship from this Ascent Psalm’s opening verse … celebration, anticipation, participation. Three exciting things to expect each and every week.

But there is an even more exciting part to this verse … we are going to the house of the Lord. You might say that to celebration, anticipation, participation, we add His revelation.

Now, many would connect this to the Temple in Jerusalem … and yes, entering the Temple would be exciting, glorious, and full of awe. Or maybe the writer was referring to the Tabernacle, the temporary tent established by Moses’s symbolizing where one met God. I acknowledge the cultural connection of the Psalm of Ascent, but I also think this concept goes much deeper.

The house of the Lord was where the Lord could be experienced … and that place is not restricted by geographical boundaries or walls.

There is scene in Elf the Movie where Buddy thinks Santa is going to visit and he gets all excited, he thinks he will be in the presence of the great Jolly Ole’ St. Nick himself. Now Buddy knows Santa, and this makes it that much more sweet for him. So, it wasn’t about being at the North Pole, it was about time with Santa.

Do you see my connection here? I am excited to be at a church building and with fellow pilgrims that desire the celebration, anticipation, and participation of what worship brings. But I am more excited to seek the Lord and be where He reveals Himself and His glory. Hopefully that is in the church, but it can also be in the most unexpected places as well.

The house of the Lord was where the Lord could be experienced … and that place is not restricted by geographical boundaries or walls.

In Scripture, one of the first mentions of house of the Lord is in a place called Luz (why don’t we see ‘Luz Baptist Church’ anywhere?) where Jacob laid down to sleep with his head on a pile of rocks … that is until he had the vision of that stairway, that ladder, to heaven, where angels were ascending and descending. He woke in such a state of fear, of awe, of dreadfulness. So what did he do? He dedicated the place using the very rocks he slept on … and he renamed it Bethel … which means house of God. (Now we do see many Bethel Baptist Churches.)

Do you get the awe, the WOW, the very glorious point to the fact that we mere humans are to behold the Lord’s revelation of Himself? We enter into the place where we experience Him. We already know Him, believe in Him, follow Him, are loved by Him, and saved by Him … but entering into His house is to experience afresh His wonder, His grace, His love … experience Him.

What does this challenge us to do this weekend? As you experience the moments of worship, look to see Him and what He is showing you. Look for a word of encouragement, a call to action from Him to serve others, a correction from a loving Father, and/or a deeper insight to what it means to follow Him.

So this weekend, and every weekend, may we be glad when they say … let us go into the house of the Lord.

Next weekend, how we are the house of the Lord. A different twist to looking at this verse and how the word house relates to a roof. All rolled into one WOW Weekend blog. Can’t wait to see what I’m going to write.