03 The Wilderness of Worship

The Wilderness of Worship

"Water! Who would have thought that in the middle of this desert there would be a sea!" the traveler is exclaiming to himself when next I see him in my dream. From the brow of a mammoth dune he looks down into an expanse of blue stretching to the horizon. "But no, it isn’t water," he remembers. "The old man on the mountain pointed to this as the beginning of the second wilderness." As he descends the hill to its edge, the strange sea of sand is not as flat as it seemed from above. There are waves of blue extending into the distance like a frozen ocean. "Perhaps there is a relationship between this and ’the sea of glass’ before the throne of God. Perhaps the waves will flatten out as I approach the City of God."

Suddenly a person of unearthly beauty is standing a few feet away from the traveler. "Greetings," the being says. "It’s a long way across this stretch. Many have perished trying to make it on foot. I offer you a better way."

"A better way?" asks the traveler. "Yes, I have the power to cross this wilderness in a split second. And if you will let me, I can take you with me. I can have you safe on the other side directly."

"What must I do?"

"All I require is a token act. If you will merely kneel to pay me homage, I will lift you across this wilderness with the speed of light..."

"But that would be to worship you, wouldn’t it?"

"Why do you find that strange? People do it every day. You did it yourself long before you came to this wilderness. The citizens often worship me in Christian City. Some there worship money – serve it like slaves. Their eyes light up at the thought of it. But the love of money is only a symbol of my reality."

"You aren’t reaching me with your talk of money. It’s never been a problem in My life," the traveler retorts. "How about romance? What could be more beautiful or innocent than being in love? But when the state of being in love becomes a goal and dominates the mind, there is idolatry involved. And it is ’yours truly’ behind that idol," he says triumphantly. "But the most personally satisfying worship I receive comes from men and women who are pursuing religious successes."

"Well," the traveler cuts his boasting short, "If I have to worship you in exchange for quick trip across this wilderness, I’ll gladly walk, if it takes forever!" At this, the bewitching creature vanishes in defeat.

I soon hear the traveler reasoning with himself again: "In Christian City it is possible to go through all the surface motions of faith in God while one’s real worship, the thing which obsesses the mind day and night, is idolatry. Now that I have left there I can survive only if I’m lost in the worship of God. God has said:

"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise." (Isaiah 43:19-21)

"Perhaps such worship can be formed only in this desert, with its dryness and pounding heat, searing light and eerie silence."

These reflections are interrupted by a sudden crescendo of indescribable music, singing of unearthly beauty. Voices seem to be everywhere. Yet no one is visible. From the top of a blue wave, the traveler sees seven people standing in a hollow with their hands raised heavenward, uttering the praises to God. In the midst of this music, his mysterious companion returns. Filled with joy, the traveler tells her, "Do you notice how the seven worshipers are really surrounded by a multitude of magnificent beings whose voices blend with theirs? I felt that out here in the desert I have, in a mystery, already entered the outskirts of the City of God."

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gatherings, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel... Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."

After some time the song ceases. Everything becomes still. No one is in sight but the seven worshipers, who bid the traveler God’s peace and file over the dune, leaving him alone with his companion. She leads him to a rushing stream and provides him another meal.

"So this is the Wilderness of Worship," exclaims the traveler, still in awe from his experience.

"Yes, here Christians learn to worship God the Father in spirit and truth. You might call it the outer court of the City of God; for as you have seen, the inhabitants of that City are all around you. Back in the Wilderness of Forgiveness you began to experience the power of Jesus’ blood cleansing your inmost heart. Here in the Wilderness of Worship you receive His Holy Spirit. God baptizes you with power and from on high in order for you to worship Him with a worship which, in the wildernesses beyond, will take the shape of deeds. Joel 2:28-29 tells us: "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

"I have never experienced such worship as this. But will it last?" asks the traveler. "Will I still be able to worship the living God with such grace in the deserts beyond?"

"Changes are taking place in you which, if you let them, will last forever. Your heart is being opened by the outpoured Spirit. Your mouth is being opened to speak as God gives you utterance – ’Your sons and daughters will prophesy.’ And your eyes are being opened to see visions and dream dreams. You are receiving eyes which see God."

"But don’t these same things happen back in Christian City? I am told that this sort of thing goes on in the Apostolic Church of the Future every Sunday night."

"The difference, brother, is that here you do not merely taste worship or dabble in worship. Here in the desert you are lost in the worship of God so that all your praise and thanksgiving goes to Him. Everything you do is done for Him."

"But isn’t there a danger of fanaticism?"

"Fanatics worship principles, ideas, human personalities and even demons, but never God. Consuming worship of God is the doorway, not to fanaticism, but to liberty such as you have never known. When you are lost in the worship of God, you no longer worship such things as money, romance, or success. You have found the one true object of worship, and as you worship Him you are fulfilled." With these words his companion departs. Once again the traveler is alone on a sea of blue sand, lost in the worship of God.