Let's do a little activity together. Grab a sheet of paper and separate it into two columns. In the let column write down all of the things you can think of when you think of a party. Think about who, what, and why.
You probably wrote things like food or cake, singing, laughing. You probably thought of birthdays or anniversaries. Parties are a happy and fun place to be. Now in the right column I want you to write about church.
Was there any crossover? Do you see a difference? For a lot of people going to church is more like attending a funeral on a weekly basis than a party. Isn't in funny that we often times struggle to celebrate the best news the world could ever know?
That's not to say that there isn't room in worship for more solemn experiences, but for the most part we have trouble when it comes to celebrating the work of God in our lives, especially in worship.
Today we are going to be looking at the Enthusiast temperament which draws near to God through celebration. These people are our firecrackers when it comes to worship. They are filled to the brim with the joy of the Lord and just exude celebration in their lives. I like being around these types of people. These are our fun loving, fun having friends who know how to throw a good party.
It's unfortunate that Christians struggle to find places and ways to celebrate in their lives because the Bible is chock full of examples of celebration.
The Israelites knew how to celebrate things. They celebrated all sorts of things that Yahweh has done. In Leviticus 23, God instructs Moses on how to celebrate properly. Throughout the chapter the Lord describes in detail the many feasts that the Israelites are commanded to observe. So that I don't have to type all of it out, here is a handy informational video!
That's not to say that there isn't room in worship for more solemn experiences, but for the most part we have trouble when it comes to celebrating the work of God in our lives, especially in worship.
Today we are going to be looking at the Enthusiast temperament which draws near to God through celebration. These people are our firecrackers when it comes to worship. They are filled to the brim with the joy of the Lord and just exude celebration in their lives. I like being around these types of people. These are our fun loving, fun having friends who know how to throw a good party.
It's unfortunate that Christians struggle to find places and ways to celebrate in their lives because the Bible is chock full of examples of celebration.
The Israelites knew how to celebrate things. They celebrated all sorts of things that Yahweh has done. In Leviticus 23, God instructs Moses on how to celebrate properly. Throughout the chapter the Lord describes in detail the many feasts that the Israelites are commanded to observe. So that I don't have to type all of it out, here is a handy informational video!
Now, while there are parts of these celebrations that are very solemn and reflective, all of them are rooted in the wonderful things God had done for the nation of Israel. It was cause for celebration and joy!
We know David had a heart for celebration, not only from the Psalms, but also from this really funny account we get in 2 Samuel 6:12-15. The Ark of the Covenant, Israel's prized possession, had be rescued from the hands of the Philistines. Michal, one of the daughters of Saul, was watching this parade and sarcastically rebuked David's behavior. I love David's response in vs 22 where he says "I will become even more undignified than this!" Now that is an Enthusiast!! (Also that makes a great worship song.)
Skip over to the New Testament and count the number of times Jesus attends a party, eats dinner with someone, or talks about a banquet, party, or wedding.
In Luke 14 and 15 alone, there are over 9 different parties/celebrations mentioned. Jesus began his ministry, we are told in John 2, at a wedding celebration which is a detail that I don't think should be overlooked.
However the most recognizable of the Party Parables comes at the end of Luke 15 where Jesus is telling us about the kingdom of God is like a son who disowned his father but came back when he had nothing left. The end of the story is one we know well, but have trouble in practicing, the father throws a huge party for his son who was once lost but is now found.
And like Jesus, Enthusiasts understand the importance of a celebrating the things that God is doing.
But as we have said Christians have not done the best job at celebrating.
I think that there are a couple of things that are going on below the surface that have hindered our celebratory spirit.
a) More often than not, our focus for parties is often focused on ourselves. Birthday parties, anniversaries, accomplishments, sporting events, etc...all of these focus on things that we have done. Now don't hear me say that those things shouldn't be celebrated, but we do celebrate a lot of things that are mostly meaningless.
The Ancient Jewish people, as we have seen in our quick review of Scripture had deep meaning and purpose behind their celebrations. They are all focused on the things that God has done in the life. Not those things that they did.
Think about how different church would be if we took the time to really celebrate those things that God has done in our lives. Not just singing a "happy-clappy song," but actually having a party, say when someone gets baptized, or when God provides a great victory in the life of the church such as getting out of debt or providing an unimaginable ministry opportunity, or celebrating the work of God in mission work.
It's going to take a systemic change in our hearts to begin that transformative work of celebrating the things God is doing versus the things that we do, but I think the reward would be awesome as we make that shift.
b) We have been desensitized to the supernatural work of God. It's really easy, as we just mentioned, to look at the things that "celebration-worthy" and say that we are the ones who accomplished those things. Part of being an Enthusiast is having the eyes to see and the ears to hear what God is doing in the world around us, and then having the proper response.
c) Proper response is one of the major aspects of the Enthusiast temperament. It's really funny (not in the "ha-ha" way) to see people often so disinterested and unenthused during worship. We sing a number of songs that say things like "Clap your hands" and "Shout Hallelujah" but instead we give God a "golf-clap" and nothing more than a "yip." To increase that spirit of celebration in our collective worship we will nee to start cultivating a sense of celebration and mystery in our personal worship.
As we have just discussed there are a number of different things we could be doing to develop this sense of celebration in our lives. In her handbook of spiritual disciplines, Adele Calhoun opens up the book with the discipline of Celebration.
Under the Spiritual Exercises portion of her book she lists a number of ways to grow and practice this discipline of celebration:
-Identify that place where you most readily connect with God and visit it frequently and be aware of the joy it brings you.
-Get involved in an art music, painting, crafting, dance, something that brings you great happiness and use it as a form of worship.
-Throw a dinner party or a celebration in honor of someone and make a special effort to remind them of how precious they are to God.
In our world it is incredibly easy to get downcast and depressed. Just turn on the TV for 15 minutes and you'll see all sorts of things to be sad about. But let's not forget that even in the midst of those things, God is still at work and is full love, joy, peace, and hope. We believe that God is in the process of making all things right, and that one day it will be complete. And "Every small experience of Jesus with us is a taste of the joy that is to come." (SDH , 27) Heaven is celebrating and God is inviting us to join the party. So let's set our minds to live with a greater joy and hope.
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