Backside of the Mountain.

Bow.

Battle. Over. Worship.

I notice that there has been battle over worship in my life. Pay attention to that. There is a battle to hold back. When Satan is tempting Jesus in the wilderness (Bible book of Matthew, chapter 4), one of the areas that Satan is tempting Jesus in is about WORSHIP. If this is where Satan is tempting Jesus, then why wouldn’t he be tempting me there too? It wasn't that Satan didn't want Jesus to worship, it was that he wanted Jesus to worship him. Satan doesn't want us to worship Jesus! He knows it can change your life. So there is battle over it. There just is.

I find this very stirring. Early in the Old Testament, the main way that the children of Israel had been taught to worship was through the blood sacrifice of an animal. At one point, God rejected Saul as the king and was going to indicate who the new king would be. When God told Samuel that He was choosing a new king from the sons of Jesse, He told Samuel to invite Jesse to come with him to sacrifice a heifer to the Lord. This was that now very familiar place of worship before the Lord. Samuel consecrated Jesse and his sons and they offered the sacrifice to the Lord in worship as the Lord moved to indicate who the next king would be. As the first of Jesse's sons came in front of Samuel, he was sure that this oldest, strongest son would be the one the Lord indicated was the new king. Nope. I am drawn to the teaching in this moment in the Bible book of First Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7. "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

I just want to pause there and soak in those words. The Lord looks at my heart. Really, this makes me all at once tremble and want to collapse into His chest to rest. He looks at my heart. He looks there and I am not immediately struck dead. He looks there and draws me to Himself. I believe that I can live many days numb to the extravagance of this Lover's gaze. If He's looking at my heart and not pushing me away then it can't be anything other than a holy Lover's love. I am seen and wanted. Wow.

Ok. Back to our story even though it's worth staying in that pause. One by one, Jesse's boys are brought in front of Samuel. No. No. No. No. None of them. Samuel inquires if these are all the sons that he has. And then there is this stirring intersection. Jesse says, "There is still the youngest. He is tending the sheep." There is one that wasn't even invited to come to worship at the sacrifice of the choosing of a new king. He is on the back side of the mountain tending sheep. Samuel says, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." And David arrives. "Rise and anoint him; this is the one." God did it.

Consider these words from an author. “David’s passion for God was first seen on the backside of a mountain while tending his father’s sheep. In the quiet part of our day, when no one is looking, the true desires of our hearts can be seen. So it was with David. David was a skilled musician who wrote songs of worship to God. He did this long before this was normal expression of worship. Up to this point in history, Israel had been instructed to offer the blood sacrifice to God as their basic worship expression. But there had been very little instruction about the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise that could be GIVEN FROM THE HEART. David discovered that this was important to God as he pursued God. He learned that what really pleased God was the offering of a broken and contrite heart. And David was eager to give it. His zeal for God became evident as he gave himself to the privilege of worship and ministered directly to the Lord.”

The book of Psalm in the Bible is a collection of 150 songs that were written as heart offerings of all of the myriad of things and feelings and circumstances that are faced and lived as we are in relationship with God. Of the 150 of them, this same David wrote about half of them. So while nobody else was watching on the backside of the mountain, maybe even while they were sacrificing an animal just prior to him being chosen king, David was pouring His heart out to his Lord in words and songs of worship. Gritty, honest, beautiful worship. Like Psalm 63, verse 4. "So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands." As God was at work in David's life there on the backside of the mountain, David was offering a sacrifice......a sacrifice of praise directly to His Lord. "I bless You.....I bless You...."

Try it....."I bless You Lord.....I bless You......I bless You....."

While no-one else is watching, you can worship your Savior. Just you, right where you are, who you are, how you are, offering a sacrifice of praise to your King, directly. He says He wants it. There's still fire in the sacrifice.

From the backside of the mountain to down the mountain at Wal-Mart, you and I blessing our Savior.

There's more.