I was pleasantly surprised with all the good feedback from my first post on this topic. It is clear that people do want to get back to what the true heart of worship is. If you have not read my last blog I recommend that you read it before reading this one. That way you can know exactly where all of this is coming from and are not confused with what exactly I am talking about. Well here comes part two I pray that God speaks to you through these words and pray that these words are not my own but His.
One Sunday I was standing during the invitation at church and I saw people praying on the alter and what looked like they were really surrendering things to God. During invitation everyone knows that you get one full song and that is it, no more no less. The song had come to a close and there was still people praying on the alter. The pastor realizing this asked everyone to bow there heads for a moment but just like a stereotypical baptist I didn't. I proceeded to watch the pastor walk over the people who were praying and whisper into their ears. I am not sure what exactly he said but after he did they stood up and walked back to there seats. I could tell he wasn't praying with them because he only stood by them for about 5 seconds. And i could tell by a look of disgust on there faces they were not happy with him.
This event makes me think of one essential thing in thinking about "Where is Worship? and that is about how we Quench the Spirit. When believers do not allow the Spirit to be seen in our actions, when we do what we know is wrong, we quench the Spirit. We do not allow the Spirit to reveal Himself the way that He wants to." According to John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. So you can see from this verse that when the Holy Spirit speaks to you it is teaching you and reminding you of our Lord Jesus. Can you see why it would be a problem to quench that spirit?
In the end of Pauls letter to the Thessalonians he tells them to not quench the spirit. (1 Thess. 5:19) We can see that this must be important because Paul speaks against it but yet we still do it and I believe it is one of the things holding us back from true worship. Imagine going to a church service that put the whole service in Gods Hands. I service that said today I will let God run the show and not me. I can imagine the spirit just showing up in a way that no one can imagine. Worship would never stop it would be continuing. The pastor may never actually speak a word it may just be worship. If there is more then one service at your church, imagine the first service rolling into the second and no one stopped it.
This is a experience I long to be a part of. To be apart of something that says today we will not hold back the spirit. We will let it free and to live out the way it wants to. Even if the clock says service should have ended 10 minutes ago no one will care because God had arrived and when God shows up you better not quench Him! I truly believe God wants us to give up our set schedules to give up the idea that after an hour church must end or else mindset. He wants to be able to move without us holding him back at all.
This blog took a twist I wasn't ready for but it is important. One because as Baptist we avoid talking about the Holy Spirit and all that it can do because then we think we may become Charismatic. But you know one thing about the Charismatic movement is that they walk into church knowing they may stay for hours and worship. It is the same way in churches that are planted in other countries who never herd the word of God before. Their services go for hours because they want to be able to stay and worship God.
Before ending this I always want myself and you as the reader to take a look at yourself. Take a look at yourself and see what it is in your heart, and mind that is holding back the spirit from coming forth and for you to experience true worship.
I hope you all are blessed from this post and I cannot wait to read your comments, and I will be working soon on the next part....Where is Worship? Part 3
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Where is the Worship? Part 1
So recently I have found myself slipping more and more into sin almost to the point where I can not recognize who I am anymore. Now of course everyone around me looks at me and think nothing is wrong and that is because I am very good at wearing masks and can hide things from people very well. But as God began to break my heart and like the shepherd from Matthew 18 run after me to bring me back to the herd I began to notice why it is so easy for me and many others to go astray. This is because true worship is not happening!!!
I began to notice this because when getting turned around I longed for intimacy with Christ and to honestly Worship him for all he has done. I am talking about the Lord of All, the Alpha and Omega, the Sacrificial Lamb, the Bread of Life, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ!! The one and the only one who deserves to be praised but yet when worshiping it seems like we are worshiping the wrong things. We look to a band and say that they are our source for worship and all the band is about is sounding good together and to get everyone to jump around and go crazy versus experiencing Christ. It seems like we are not letting the Holy Spirit move in a mighty way and when the Holy Spirit does begin to move we quench it. We are more about singing a song then about falling on our faces in prayer and adoration to the Lord.
Before you start complaining and saying I am wrong and all that jazz I want you to stop for a second. I want you to take a deep look into your heart. When is the last time you honestly worshiped God whole-heartily. What I mean by this is when you worship is it just you and God or is it you and the band, you and the person next to you, you and wondering what is for lunch or how long the line is going to be at O'charleys. Or Maybe even wondering why the person across the room is raising there hands, or maybe you are the person who raises there hands even though in all honesty your mind is not focused on Christ at all.
You do understand that you do not have to have music to worship God right? Look at John 4:21-24 it says that true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.
I look at these verses and notice a few things about worship. True worship is only acceptable to God. So many times we stand and sing songs but in all honesty our heart is not actually in it. For example we will sing the song Holy is the Lord. The words are :
We stand and lift up our hands
For the joy of the Lord is our strength
We bow down and worship Him now
How great, how awesome is He
How many times have we sang that song but yet not really even thought about the words? We sing a song saying that we will lift up our hands for the Joy of the Lord is our strength but yet we stand there and just sing the words but not truly read them. It says we raise our hands, if we sing these words and do not raise our hands are we in a sense lying? Understand I do this, i sing this song and stand still and don't actually think about what it is that I am singing. I also do this to the song We Fall Down.
We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
I don't lay my crowns down to Christ, I like to hold on to things and not truly surrender it all over to Christ. I understand that song is looking at Heaven and what it will be like when we see Christ but currently I cannot even follow Him 100 percent so honestly can i truly fathom laying all my crowns down at the feet of Jesus?
Another point I see from John 4:21-24 is that, that true worship only comes from Jesus Christ. I think the reason why do not truly come into honest worship with Christ is because we are unrepentant. In my life personally I find it impossible to truly come before God in worship when I am holding on to sins or not wanting to repent for things. When we bow before God and repent and let God restore our hearts it is then I am able to truly worship him in Spirit and Truth. That is why i say that true worship only come from Jesus Christ. Because only He can restore ones heart and make a person whole again.
So i have never wrote this much before on a blog and my thought process is not over, So i will call this Where is worship? Part 1. I long to hear your thoughts on this but please understand this is not an attack on anyone so if you are reading this and for some reason think this is attacking you calm down, it is not. Part 2 will be coming soon.
I began to notice this because when getting turned around I longed for intimacy with Christ and to honestly Worship him for all he has done. I am talking about the Lord of All, the Alpha and Omega, the Sacrificial Lamb, the Bread of Life, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ!! The one and the only one who deserves to be praised but yet when worshiping it seems like we are worshiping the wrong things. We look to a band and say that they are our source for worship and all the band is about is sounding good together and to get everyone to jump around and go crazy versus experiencing Christ. It seems like we are not letting the Holy Spirit move in a mighty way and when the Holy Spirit does begin to move we quench it. We are more about singing a song then about falling on our faces in prayer and adoration to the Lord.
Before you start complaining and saying I am wrong and all that jazz I want you to stop for a second. I want you to take a deep look into your heart. When is the last time you honestly worshiped God whole-heartily. What I mean by this is when you worship is it just you and God or is it you and the band, you and the person next to you, you and wondering what is for lunch or how long the line is going to be at O'charleys. Or Maybe even wondering why the person across the room is raising there hands, or maybe you are the person who raises there hands even though in all honesty your mind is not focused on Christ at all.
You do understand that you do not have to have music to worship God right? Look at John 4:21-24 it says that true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.
I look at these verses and notice a few things about worship. True worship is only acceptable to God. So many times we stand and sing songs but in all honesty our heart is not actually in it. For example we will sing the song Holy is the Lord. The words are :
We stand and lift up our hands
For the joy of the Lord is our strength
We bow down and worship Him now
How great, how awesome is He
How many times have we sang that song but yet not really even thought about the words? We sing a song saying that we will lift up our hands for the Joy of the Lord is our strength but yet we stand there and just sing the words but not truly read them. It says we raise our hands, if we sing these words and do not raise our hands are we in a sense lying? Understand I do this, i sing this song and stand still and don't actually think about what it is that I am singing. I also do this to the song We Fall Down.
We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
I don't lay my crowns down to Christ, I like to hold on to things and not truly surrender it all over to Christ. I understand that song is looking at Heaven and what it will be like when we see Christ but currently I cannot even follow Him 100 percent so honestly can i truly fathom laying all my crowns down at the feet of Jesus?
Another point I see from John 4:21-24 is that, that true worship only comes from Jesus Christ. I think the reason why do not truly come into honest worship with Christ is because we are unrepentant. In my life personally I find it impossible to truly come before God in worship when I am holding on to sins or not wanting to repent for things. When we bow before God and repent and let God restore our hearts it is then I am able to truly worship him in Spirit and Truth. That is why i say that true worship only come from Jesus Christ. Because only He can restore ones heart and make a person whole again.
So i have never wrote this much before on a blog and my thought process is not over, So i will call this Where is worship? Part 1. I long to hear your thoughts on this but please understand this is not an attack on anyone so if you are reading this and for some reason think this is attacking you calm down, it is not. Part 2 will be coming soon.
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