Concerning Early Morning Worship

Concerning Early Morning Worship

 

 

 

 

Amen. The passages above show us how earnestly we ought to long for Jesus, that is, the Word of God, from the very beginning of the day. As we see in the passage below, Jesus Himself also prayed early in the morning.

 

Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

 

In this way, we too should be able to earnestly seek God from the early morning, following the example of Jesus and of the faithful who went before us. And we must also understand that this longing is not something we should have only in the morning, but throughout the whole day and forever.

 

Psalm 55:17 “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.”

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

Psalm 131:2-3 “2Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. 3Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.”

 

And God has promised that He will be found by those who earnestly seek Him in this way.

 

Proverbs 8:17 “I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.”

Matthew 7:7-8 “7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

 

Amen. According to these words, Jesus will surely be found by those who earnestly seek Him. What we must understand here is that an “earnest heart” must arise willingly from within a person’s own heart; it is not something that comes because someone else forces it. In other words, earnestly seeking the Lord cannot be done by compulsion or pressure. It becomes possible when a person believes that Jesus is his Savior, desires to rely on Him, and has a heart that loves Him.

 

Proverbs 2:1-6 “... 3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

 

As this passage teaches, just as people in this world place value on “silver” and “hidden treasures” and earnestly seek them, we must know and believe that the Word of God is better than thousands of gold and silver (Psalm 119:71-72) in order to seek it earnestly.

 

1 Peter 1:8-9 “8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

John 14:21-24 “21He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him... 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. 24He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.”

 

In this way, if anyone loves Jesus, he must value the words of Jesus (Philippians 3:8) and believe and obey them to the end. But this cannot be done by compulsion or pressure; it can only be done when one loves Jesus. Therefore, not only early morning worship, but any kind of worship, must not be offered by force or compulsion. We must also clearly understand why we are worshipping. For example, in Jesus’ day, people thought that if one believed in God, fasting was naturally required. For that reason, even the disciples of John the Baptist questioned why Jesus’ disciples did not fast, as seen below.

 

Matthew 9:14-15 “14Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not? 15And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”

 

At the time when Jesus spoke these words, everyone thought that “fasting was essential.” Yet Jesus defended His disciples for not fasting. This was not because fasting itself was wrong, but because the fasting God had spoken of had instead become distorted into something people used to boast in themselves.

 

Luke 18:10-14 “10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Matthew 6:16-18 “16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”

 

Also, if there are people who understand and believe early morning worship to be “the tithe of the day” based on the saying that “the firstfruits belong to God” (Exodus 23:19), then all the more they cannot force early morning worship upon others. This is because when God spoke of tithes, He was not seeking money or material things from us, but our hearts (Psalm 51:16-17).

 

As stated earlier, we must earnestly seek Jesus “from morning until evening.” This is because God desires our hearts. Therefore, if someone has a heart that desires to earnestly seek Jesus through early morning prayer or worship, then he may do so according to that willing heart. The place is not important (Matthew 18:20, John 4:20-24). If one cannot do so in the place where he is, he may come to church, that is, a place of worship. If those who willingly desire to offer early morning worship wish to gather together at the same time and set a certain hour, then they may gather at that time. However, this too cannot be forced upon others. Likewise, even if the church, or the one leading, sets a time for early morning worship, people cannot be compelled to attend, just as this is true not only of early morning worship but of all worship. This is because God receives our “willing heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Chronicles 29:10-17), and He does not desire people merely to tread His courts (Isaiah 1:12).

 

Therefore, we should no longer think that early morning worship is connected to the revival of a church, or that it is a measure by which we can judge how strong someone’s faith is. Rather, each person should think and act according to the measure of faith God has given him (Romans 12:2-8).

 

Romans 14:1-4, 10, 13 “1Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 10But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

 

As this passage teaches, we must not judge one another. What matters is that whether one’s faith is small or great, all of us must strive to earnestly seek Jesus “from morning until evening.” This is because the Word of God says that the one who delights in seeking Jesus “day and night” is blessed, and that such a person will surely find Him.

 

Psalm 1:1-3 “1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

2 Chronicles 15:2, 14-15 “2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you. 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.”

 

Amen.