Responsive readings were read. Hymns were sung. A passage from the Old Testament was read followed by one from the Epistles. Then it came time for the Gospel reading. The Pastor who was preaching that evening came up to read the account of the disciples encountering Jesus on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24. As he began to share the account, the room of 700+ people became whisper-quiet. He spoke the Word of God with an authentic intensity & with passion. My heart was so moved by the way this Pastor spoke the Word. It was gripping my spirit. And it had grabbed the complete attention of the whole room.

There was one other thing about him speaking this Scripture that made a huge impact on me and I hope to never forget. He wasn’t reading the 20+ verses of Scripture to the congregation; he was reciting them from memory. In fact, every time this Pastor preaches, he memorizes the Gospel lesson for that day. This wasn’t something he did to impress a large group of Pastors and leaders – this was his normal practice.

For me, this was the highlight of the whole evening; even more than the songs I got to lead. Even though my only response was listening, there was something very worshipful about hearing the Scriptures “read”. I think God was honored by the love and respect that was shown to the Word that evening.

One of the accessories God told Moses to make for the Tabernacle was a golden lamp stand. When finished, it was to be placed in the Holy Place. The Holy Place was an enclosed section of the Tabernacle where only priests could enter. This was not the place where animal sacrifices or offerings were made. Everything in the Holy Place, the incense, the table of the Presence and the lamp stand, were not used to minister to the people, but to God Himself.

Besides being created for everyday worship, the Tabernacle was also designed to show us a prophetic picture of Jesus. Psalm 119:105 says:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

We also know from John 1 that the Word of God is not a book, but the Word is a person; Jesus Christ Himself. I believe that the lamp stand is a beautiful prophetic picture of the Word of God – Jesus.

In Leviticus 24, God gives these instructions:

The LORD said to Moses,  “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.  Outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD must be tended continually.

Part of the worship that happened in the Holy Place was the continuous burning of the lamps on the lamp stand. Just as the lamp gave light to the Holy Place so the priests could worship, the Word Himself must be given our utmost attention when we worship. Without Him, we worship in the dark.

It seems like our world is shaking; politically, economically and spiritually in some places. At the same time, some people in the Church are abandoning the Word because they think it’s out-dated, irrelevant & offensive to the 21st century social structure. God says in Hebrews 12 that everything that can be shaken will be shaken. If we want to be unshakable, then we must be anchored to the Word. If we say we stand for Jesus, then we must stand for His Word. If we claim Jesus is our foundation, then we must build our lives on the Word of God. We can’t separate the two because they are one in the same.

Because so many have dishonored the Word, I believe God is deeply touched when we honor it. Singing isn’t the only way we can worship when we’re at church. Whether we’re reading it or just listening to someone read it (or recite it!), we have the opportunity to worship when the Word is presented. Let’s honor God by esteeming His Word and letting Him burn bright in our churches.

Feel free to leave a comment below to start some conversations