Category: Uncategorized

Worship?

worshipFor most of us when we think of worship we think of gathering ourselves together within the confines of a building somewhere to pray and talk about God.  For many, many Christians in North America at least this has come to describe the first part of a service where we sing together.  Having been a worship leader for almost two decades it has for several of those years been my definition as well.

Worship has been a source of great contention and fighting in churches throughout history.  Charles Spurgeon even called the worship team “the war department” because worship has always been a subject which causes people to argue.  How many songs do we sing.  What kind of songs can we sing.  Are there musical instruments allowed?

I have begun to realize over the years that we have completely missed the boat in regards to worship.  Because worship was never meant to be about us.  Music isn’t even needed for worship to happen.  I have left many services over the years, ones that I have led, and others where I have been a participant, and have often heard people say “wasn’t worship powerful?”, and the opposite “worship didn’t do anything today.”.  I have had people say they didn’t like the music I chose.  I have had people refuse to take part except when songs they like to sing were played.  I have been involved in discussions where people demanded that chorus be used instead of hymns.

I think we have walked away from true worship and have begun to worship worship.  We value the songs, the lyrics, or the rhythms that we like and discard everything else.  We take part when we feel like it, depending on how spiritual , or how difficult or easy our week has been.  I have struggled to take part myself when I was feeling low or tired.  But worship was never meant to be about us.

When we allow our preferences and passions to determine our worship we focus on ourselves and what we want.  And worship was meant to be all about Jesus, letting our love and hunger for Him express itself.  Worship is about proclaiming God’s value and glory.  It is about focusing on and valuing God simply for who He is.

Worship is about our lives placed before our creator and exalting the one who made us, and redeemed us.  Wolfgang Simson wrote “worship has much more to do with Spirit-filled obedience (Romans 12:1-2) than with music and singing “worship” songs. Our worship must center on the unquestioning readiness to lay aside life, limb, possessions, family, house, friendships, evangelical respectability—everything—to see the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Worship is not so much what we do but how we do it; not so much what we say or sing but how we are a living sacrifice.”

We have allowed ourselves to walk away from the passion and power of lives lived in surrender and allowing our lives, hearts and voices to give expression to the greatness and awesome splendor of the King of kings who spoke the entire world into being, and knows every star by name, and still has time to know how many hairs are on our heads.  We serve an incredible and awesome God and we need to return again to the true roots of worship, and become the worshipers God is seeking after.  “Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him.“ John 4:23 GWT

Let your light shine

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“Let your light shine in front of men.” Matthew 5:16 NLV  It has been the source of many sermons and studies calling Christians everywhere to stand up and share their faith.  We have all encountered people who jump in and share and push and prop people to listen to them and often pressure people to believe with them.  We have all even seen people walking around carrying a bible big enough to choke a mule trying to engage people in conversation hoping to convince them that they need to believe what we believe.

Unfortunately this has caused people to write us off a religious nuts who run around pressuring people to believe with us.  And so we try harder to share, because we know it is what God wants us to do, or we simply go quiet and hide.  Neither option is worth it.  God does want us to share with people about who He is, but He doesn’t want us running around badgering people doing everything we can to convince people that what they believe is wrong and what we believe is right. 

Evangelism is a biblical requirement for us a Christians.  It is something that we are all called to do.  Jesus said “Go and make disciples”.  We have a mission while here on earth and it is the same as Jesus had.  Jesus said His mission was ” For the Son of Man[a] came to seek and save those who are lost” Luke 19:10 NLT and He stated that He was passing on His mission to us ” As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you..” John 20:21 NLT.  So evangelism is a requirement for us if we wish to follow Jesus.  But badgering people with doctrine isn’t working, and isn’t evangelism.

Jesus went all around Israel and shared of the goodness of God with people.  He allowed His light to shine before everyone He encountered.  But His light was His salvation as many people profess today.  It had nothing to do with the cross because the cross hadn’t happened yet.  It had everything to do with His relationship with the Father.  “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5 NIV.  In Him (Jesus) was life.  And this life was the life of God.  His connection to the Father.  The life and power of God flowing in and through Him.  And that life was the light of men.  It puts an interesting change to evangelism.  Do you have the life of God flowing in you?  Are all you offering people is a doctine they need to choose to believe or are we sharing with people something that we have in us that is transforming us and making us different.  If we don’t have God’s life, we have no light to share with others. 

” you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”  1 Peter 2:9-10 MSG  Time for us as followers of Christ to get plugged in to Him and allow His life to fill us.  Then we can let our light shine and talk about the transformation that God is doing in us.  It will completely revolutionize our evangelism if we do it the way Jesus did.

LEAVE THE CHOICE TO HIM

 Has God taught you the principle yet of leaving your rights with Him? Like a hitter in a baseball game who is given the signal to bunt by his coach, we must look to God to see whether we are to “sacrifice,” or “swing away.” Twenty-three year old Thomas Edison left Boston for New York in 1872. He was a brilliant inventor, but made his living as a teletype operator. Edison went to the Western Union office to seek employment as an inventor, but was told there was no such job. Instead, he was offered a position servicing and updating the teletype machines, which were quite temperamental. He was told by General Marshall Fawcett, “Just go to work, and I’ll settle up with you when we see what you can do.” Many months went by. Finally the General came in and said, “Well, son, how much do you think I owe you?” Edison was skilled with his hands, but ignorant of finances, although he had given the matter some thought. He determined that a thousand dollars would be adequate, but two thousand would be much more fair. He felt three thousand dollars was more than he deserved, but because he desperately needed the money, he decided to ask for five thousand dollars. But before he answered, he remembered the General was noted for his honesty, so at the last moment he asked, “General, what do you think my labor has been worth?” The General said without hesitating, “How does forty thousand dollars sound to you?” Edison said he turned pale, and his lips began to tremble. “F..fi – fine, sir, it sounds just fine.” He learned that day the General’s generosity exceeded his own greed. Those who demand their rights in the Christian life rarely grow. Their walk becomes stagnant and cold. But those who put their rights aside and leave the choices to God grow in grace with giant steps.