Join to Sing!

As we begin the new year, a word about "singing unto the Lord."  I've not said a lot directly about singing and music in this blog up till now.  Since creation, song, both vocal and instrumental, has had a huge part in worship of the God of the universe.  We see it throughout the Old Testament and reaffirmed in the New.  We see in Joshua 6 how music was involved in the walls of the city coming down and God's people claiming victory.  But, did the music bring down the walls?  No, as the people blew their trumpets in obedience to God, He knocked down the walls.  It is God and God alone who accomplishes His work.  Does He move mightily through music?  Yes, at His will and in His timing.  God's business is to bring new and greater glory...music or no music.  All we are responsible for is obedience.
Now, some of you are saying,  "Oh good, I don't have to sing."  Careful now, you hear.  We are COMMANDED to "sing unto the Lord" and leave the glory up to Him.  And, nowhere in scripture does it say, "Sing, unless you don't have a pleasant voice."  Maybe that's why God says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" -  to accommodate those who think they are not singers.  Just the word "sing" in all it's tenses is used over 300 times in God's Word.  Must be important to Him.  So, as we begin a new year, may we, the people of God, "Join to Sing", as an outpouring of our passionate worship to lift our song to the One who is Author and Finisher, Alpha and Omega, Sin-bearer, Redeemer and Lord!  In doing so, we acknowledge our need for Him to lead us through this coming new year to His new and greater glory!  mjm

And then, . . . Perfect Worship

In the Old Testament books of history we learn much about worship from the kings, judges, and other servants of the Lord.  Then in Psalms and Proverbs we are shown how to build relationship with God through song and righteousness.  We are given expressions of praise that carry into our worship today.  And then, . . . there are four hundred years of silence with no record of how God is moving among men.

But that silence is broken as God reveals Himself to Zechariah and later to Mary.  And then, God put flesh on the spirit of His Son and came into our neighborhood revealing Himself in human form as a babe in the manger.  And what was the response?  Worship in the fields.  Worship by three or more kings and WOW, worship from the multitudes across the heavens.  Coming after that we would see the worship of fishermen,  everyday folks, prostitutes, soldiers and ultimately the worship of the Son of God.  Jesus Christ became the ultimate model for worship.  He worshipped in the temple; He worshipped in song; He worshipped by serving - - and finally, He worshipped by giving of Himself - - submitting to death on a cross.  By submitting to God's ultimate plan and His will, Jesus modeled for us perfect worship.  We won't know perfect worship until we are in heaven, but for now Jesus provided the sacrifice for our sin changing worship for us forever!  Hallelujah! What a Savior.  Have a blessed Christmas as you worship Him!  mjm

More Worship from the Kings!

Solomon shows us what can happen in corporate worship when the people of God are one spiritually and musically.  In 2 Chronicles 5:13, as the Ark of God enters the newly constructed temple, the singers and instruments are as one, in unison, with their hearts in one accord.  And bless God, look what happens.  Fire falls from heaven to the point that the priests can not even minister.  God is in the house.  When we worship God completely, in one accord, with a unified voice of praise looking to the "morning star", God will make His presence known.  Hallelujah, Yahweh! 

The kings of the Old Testament give us insight into worship and the kings of the New Testament bow before Him and worship Him with gifts.  As the song in our musical this year says, "One king held the frankincense, one king held the myrrh, one king held the purest gold, but . . . one King held the hope of the world.  The only hope of the world was born and placed in the manger as hope.  The King of all kings now held the hope of the world for all eternity, making all the difference in the lives of those who receive the King into their lives as Lord!  "Merry Christmas" almost seems inadequate to express all of that.  

Come, and worship the King!  mjm  

Worship Across "His Story"

We find in the books of history in the Old Testament the kings modeling worship which  informs our worship.  David's personal and intimate worship brought God near and God's presence was David's life-long guide as he ruled the kingdom.  David worshipped even as a fugitive during some dark years and penned Psalms, giving us a glimpse of the provision, protection, and power of God.
David not only loved the person of God, but the Word of God.  David proclaimed his total dependence and commitment to the principles and teachings of the Lord.  David lived in the Word and what was his response?  Worship.
Did he sin and disobey?  Yes, but God forgave the worshipping king.  The once adulterous king conquered sin and his foes because of unadulterated worship.  David praised and worshipped as an example in front of the whole kingdom and they followed his lead.  God came near because of David's uninhibited worship.  David only cared what God thought.  So he sang and praised his heart out and danced with no shame before the Lord.  And, God brought power and peace.  Do you want the peace and power of God in your life?  Then no matter your circumstances or your detractors, worship Him with all you are and with all you have, reserving nothing.  mjm

"HIS STORY" CONTINUES IN WORSHIP

We have learned that anything in life that is worthwhile takes preparation.  It therefore should not surprise us that we must also prepare to worship. The longer and better we prepare, the more potential for God to move among us!  That principle is seen in the lives of Abraham,  Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.  We see the Lord using everything in their lives - circumstances, experiences, life lessons through relationships - preparing them for the momentous things to be fulfilled through worship.  All of these men grappled with distractions and trials, but God used it all to show His faithfulness through it all.  Their obedience and commitment to Him became an example of true worship for all future generations.

When Moses came to the end of his days, he needed to pass on the worship leadership to a God-chosen vessel, Joshua.  Joshua had learned much about worship in the presence of the Lord and from his teacher, Moses.  The most important thing He learned was that obedience was the foundation of true, authentic, worship.  Because he obeyed without hesitation, he would lead well.  He had prepared to lead a nation of worshippers.  May we prepare to worship by laying the foundation of obedience.  Only then will we see the promised glory of God!  mjm

God's Story . . . and Worship

When we go back to the beginning of time as we know it . . . "In the beginning . . .", we begin to see the wonderful story of God unfold.  In that story we see the unveiling of God's plan for redemption - - and God's plan to come to dwell with man.  In the first two chapters of God's Word, God reveals His first revelation to us: His desire for relationship with man.  That relationship, we will learn, is to be realized through worship.  
Even after we see in chapter three the first worship wars and comprehend the results of those conflicts on all of us, God is still seeking to dwell with man, even after sin, disgrace, and death.  In fact following in chapters 4-6, God again makes His desire known by His revelation of Himself to Abraham and Moses.  What is the response of these two servants to God's revelation...every time?  WORSHIP!
We grew up singing hymns and songs that tell us that we love Him because He first loved us.  God takes the initiative constantly to have relationship with us.  All we need do is to be faithful to respond in worship!  More of the unfolding of "His story" next time.  mjm

Joy to the World!!!

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her King."  Anticipation of the moving of God is extremely important to corporate worship.  There was anticipation by Israel of the coming Savior.  There was anticipation and joy today as our church came together to give more than $500,000.00 in one day for world missions.  We came together in worship, knowing that we were joining the Lord on mission to a world who needs to hear about the one we worship.

When we come to worship every week there should be joy . . . the anticipation that God is moving among us to accomplish His will in our individual lives, and our lives together as His body.  Chuck Swindoll  says, "When His joy invades our lives, it spills over into everything we do and on to everyone we touch."  It spilled into our worship as a church and who knows how many thousands of people we touched today with the offering we gave sacrificially for His glory and the world's joy!  Celebration and joy with all passion within us should always be characteristic of our worship as we gather together week after week and remember and "repeat the sounding joy" of His coming into our lives to give us life in a way we could have never known apart from the Word, come to dwell with us!  mjm

Advent Worship and Missions

Every year as the season of Advent and World Missions Emphasis collide in our church, I am reminded of how they are very much alike.
Every time we gather for corporate worship we remember and rehearse "His-story" of God's invading history in His Son, Jesus Christ - incarnate, crucified, dead, risen, ascended, and coming again.  Our worship is always centered around Jesus.  Our worship constantly remembers and rehearses what He did because He came into our world, He comes into our lives at our invitation, and He will come again.  Hallelujah!  The light for which we wait in Advent is the light that dispels the darkness at Easter.  Our lives are shaped by Advent hope.  Christ has come and His coming prepares us for His coming again.  Our redemption draweth nigh!  This feeds the sense of celebration in our worship year round as we proclaim - He came! He comes! He will come again!  Advent means "coming."
And, when we give more than $500,000.00 to World Missions this coming Sunday we will, in a very real sense, be proclaiming to hundreds of thousands of people around the world, "We are sending the good news to you...an advent...a coming.  Hear ye!  Hear ye!  The Savior is coming to you!" mjm

Worship and Prayer

Entering God's manifest presence in worship will inform us of His purposes in prayer.  In Revelation 5:8-9 we find a connection between worship and prayer.  Each of the four living creatures and the 24 Elders holds a harp and a bowl of incense.  The harps signify worship; the bowls of incense, prayer.  Worshippers will become intercessors and intercessors will become worshippers.  

We know from Scripture that God wants to form a royal priesthood to reign with Him.  As we know, a priest is one who draws near to God offering up sacrifices, and who intercedes on the behalf of others before Him. Those are the two functions of priests.  God is busy gathering worshippers and intercessors.  Psalm 100:4 states, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise."  And in Isaiah 56:7 we find that we are to be - "a house of prayer for all nations."  True worshippers know and experience God's presence; true intercessors know God's purposes.  When you put them together, you have Biblical priests.

We again see this relationship between worship and prayer in the book of Psalms.  It is both a book of worship songs and prayers.  And the prayers were sung.  The church is meant to be a singing house of prayer!  We are to be worshipping intercessors.  It is out of this conviction that we have asked "worshipping prayer warriors" to join our worship leaders in worship and prayer!  mjm  

Up, Up, Up and Out!

Up-reach to the Lord in worship results in outreach to the World!  Our passion for the presence of God in our worship should be so contagious that it not only impacts the people in worship around us, but should reach the whole world through prayer, going, and giving.  Psalm 40 . . . "Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."
Worship is the goal of evangelism and missions and evangelism/missions is the fruit of worship.  When Jesus evangelized the woman at the well, He talked to her about what it meant to be a worshipper.  In Romans 15, Paul preached the gospel . . . "so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God." He evangelized in order to produce worshippers.  Worship is the goal of evangelism.
When we are truly worshipping, evangelism will happen.  Throughout God's Word we find that when there is an environment of worship God commissions us to go and take His message to the world.  In Isaiah 6 - "Holy, Holy Holy, . . . Go and tell the people."  Even the Great Commission came out of a time of worship: "When they saw Him, they worshipped Him . . .Then, Jesus came to them and said, "Go and make disciples of all nations."  In the Philippian jail, what started as worship ended in evangelism.  The greatest example of how evangelism can spring out of worship was also the greatest example of evangelism --the Day of Pentecost.
Our passion to glorify God compels us to become messengers of His glory!!

Life-Changing Worship and the Mission of God

In past blogs we discussed two passages of scripture that I would refer back to today.  One is Isaiah 6 and the other is Mark 12: 30-31.  In the Isaiah passage we see that when we engage and have a vision of God our ultimate response is: "Here am I Lord, send Me."  And in the Great Commandment found in Mark 12, we see that Jesus says, "We are to love the Lord with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourself."  He indicates they have to go together; it is not an either or, but both and.

Worship is a part of the Christian life that cannot be separated from other spiritual disciplines.  Worship  helps us connect or engage Christ and equips us for ministry.  Virtually nothing will be accomplished in our lives in the name of a God we have not experienced.  Authentic worship allows us to experience God at a deeper level and when that happens, personal and corporate mission will always be one of the results.  Real worship will change the worshipper and changed worshippers will change the world.

If we truly worship as a church, we will join the mission of God to change the whole world.  We will become the "sent ones".  Sent to our families, neighbors, people in our state, nation, and all the way around the world.  It will be natural to pray, go, and give sacrificially that others may know the same Christ we engage in worship.  The needs are great, but our sacrificial giving will not depend on our being convinced of the needs as much as worshipping Him and seeking Him, therefore knowing His heart for missions.  Are we there yet?  If not us, who?  If not now, when?

The Real Warfare of Worship

These days when we hear about the warfare of worship, we think about the warfare over worship styles, music styles, methods of worship, etc.  However, those are mere results of the true warfare.  The church has been under attack for the last few years.  Satan would seek to disturb and corrupt the worship of the church so we are distracted from seeking God with all our hearts in worship, keeping us from knowing His heart for mission to our world.
2 Cor. 10:3-5 tells us that the war is a spiritual war and we must use spiritual weapons.  "For we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . . "
We need to understand the impact that true worship can have in the spiritual realm.  Some people have trouble believing that music and worship actually do battle in the spiritual realm as indicated in Scripture.  Because we can't see what is going on in the spiritual realm, we have to trust God's Word.  The last thing satan wants is for God's people to be awakened to the fact that God is on a mission to grow His Church into fully devoted worshippers and followers of Christ, joining Him in His mission to the world.  Pray that we as a church will pray and worship in such a way that we gain victory over satan, resulting in the greatest giving of ourselves and our offerings to His Mission! mjm

Comments/Questions: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Supreme Weapon

Our church, led by our Senior Pastor, is in our most intense time of emphasis on missions.  We have stated previously that you can't have God's mission apart from worship of God, nor can you have true worship of God without involvement in God's mission.  The Biblical principle is everywhere.  We are seeking to intensify our involvement as a church in His mission by being challenged to pray, go, and give sacrificially to send others who are ready and willing to go.
Our worship is centered for these weeks in emphasis on God's mission.  I often said as a missionary, the question is not will you see to it that God's mission is done.  God will find those who will obey and engage. The question is: do you want to be a part of what our God is doing today to redeem the world?
Dr. T.W. Hunt was both a music ministry and music mission's professor in my seminary days.  He said the following:  " . . . the Biblical purpose of church music still remains hidden from the vision and imagination of far too many Christians.  Its purpose is the glory of its Creator, and that can best be demonstrated in spiritual worship and disciple making . . . Above all, there is need for the supreme weapon:  Prayer." May we use the supreme weapon in both worship and mission! mjm

Prayer, the Fire of Anticipation

As we are faithful to pray individually and as we gather together, there comes a sense of anticipation about what God is going to do.  When we are faithful to pray, that anticipation permeates the church to where people gather for corporate worship believing and excited that God is going to move and change lives.  There is also an anticipation of connecting among the body and an expectation that people are going to be reached and discipled and that we will see lives changed as we join with God on His mission.
Henry Blackaby says, "Worship anticipates not only an encounter with God, but also a clear next word from God.  Worship is totally God-centered! God-focused!  Out of worship comes a clearer and more focused relationship of faith and obedience with God.  Worship is God's way of developing character and directing life into His will."
When we meet with God in worship, we come away inspired, encouraged, challenged and chastised -  seeing ourselves as a part of the body formed by God Himself.  So, it is a holy encounter where we pray with expectation therefore, seeing our lives transformed in and through Him!  May I say it again?  Prayer is that which ignites a passion and expectation for the presence and power of God among us!  mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

House of Prayer

There is one main thing which if we are without it, we will never be a worshipping church, neither personally nor corporately.  That one main thing is prayer.  It was always interesting to me that the way we said, "Let's worship," or "Let us go to worship," in the Shona language in Zimbabwe was: "Ngatinamatei," which literally means "Let us go to prayer".  I thought this was rather telling because without prayer there will be no worship.  Where there is no prayer in the Church, the Church will have no life, no power, no manifest presence of God among us.
In the very first blog we talked about how I had challenged the choir to pray for "igniting a passion for the presence of God".  I asked them to pray for the personal worship life of First Family Members and for the gathering of the Body for worship every week.  Since then we have asked First Family Members to join us in that praying.  Some 70 folks, besides choir members, are praying for the worship life of our church.  I am just simple enough to believe that God is going to do great and mighty things in the worship life of our church because God's people are faithfully praying.
Without a strong and continual commitment to prayer we will never see an "igniting of a passion for the presence of God".  Together, may we be faithful to pray . . . and see God work!!  mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Person - Place - Passion . . . in Worship

In John 4:19-26 we find Jesus in the midst of a discussion with the Samaritan woman and He uses the occasion to give some of His first teaching on worship.  First of all He points out to her that the reason many flail around in the dark about worship is because they have not seen the clear light of the day, which is Jesus, Himself, God's way of salvation.
Then He points out that worship is about a person, not a place.  Many spend their lives looking for the right church, but it's all about Him; the right worship style, but it's all about Him; the right music, but it's all about Him; the right preacher or preaching style, but it's all about Him.  It is not about the "places" of worship that people tend to talk about, it is about Him! Worship is about engaging or connecting with the living God!  It is about a person, not a place.
Then, there is the passion of worship. The Message states vv. 23-24 thus; "It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.  Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth."  Then in v. 24, He continues, "Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves," (passsion), "in adoration."  Here, again, as in some other passages "spirit" is in lower case, because in this place it is not talking about the Holy Spirit, but our spirit.  We are to worship Him with everything we are, all that we are.  That's passion. One other note:  This is one of the only places in scripture where God is "seeking" something from us.  He desires our worship.  He seeks for us to engage and connect with Him in worship.  I would say there is passion both directions.  "Worship Him in spirit and truth!"
mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Priority of Worship

Last blog ended with:  God is the first priority of the church, therefore, worship should be the priority of the church.  There was a book called The Tyranny of the Urgent that pointed out how we allow the urgent to overcome the important in our lives.  If our life perspective is horizontal, our obsession with that which is human -  achievement, logic, opinion, and results - takes up all of our time and focus.  However, if our perspective is vertical, the things of God become our focus.
Gordon Dahl said, "Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.  As a result their meanings and values are distorted.  Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair, and their lifestyles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot."  Even when the church gathers for worship every week this is obvious in so many folks, that their focus seems to be horizontal rather than vertical.
In his new book Chuck Swindoll says, "When we substitute the urgent for the important in the church of Jesus Christ, we emphasize work, activity, involvement, doing, producing, impressing, and accomplishing.  But it leaves us feeling flat and empty.  It smacks of the secularized world in which we work.  Who knows how many people have been turned away from Christianity, longing for the true, living God but encountering at the church a secularized substitute?"  It's bad enough that because of the lack in our worship life, people don't encounter God in our witness.  But, even sadder that some come into the church and because of the church's focus fail to encounter the living, loving God because the people of God are not focused on His manifest presence in worship.
Swindoll says, "The important rather than the urgent things highlight the things of God - God's Word, God's will, God's plan, God's people, God's way, God's reason for living, God's glory, and God's honor.  And the goal of all of these? God's worship.  The underlying objective of a church committed to the important things - rather than the urgent - is the cultivation of a body of worshipers whose sole focus is on the Lord our God."
Lord, teach us how to make worship priority in our lives and in our church, with a passion for your presence among us!  mjm

Worship - the Passage into His Power and Presence

Over and over in both Old and New Testaments, we see the principles laid out in John 15:5.  "I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."  Abiding, remaining, focusing on; it is to worship Him and that is the entrance way into His power and presence.  The only power to accomplish anything as individual believers or the church is by His power.  And, God puts worship as the entrance way into His power.  Why does God show us that principle over and over?  Because God's main concern is His glory.  If in His kingdom we could accomplish anything in our own power, with our own cleverness, God would not receive the glory for His work.  But, because we are totally dependent on Him to bear any fruit, God is sure to get the glory.

Col. 3:1-2 tells us to "set our minds on things above, not on earthly things."  The key to true worship is the people of God becoming engaged with God with their entire hearts, souls, minds, and strength.  Dr. Bruce Leafblad has said, "God is the first priority of the church.  Not people.  Not ministry.  Not growth.  Not success.  God and God alone occupies the place of ultimate and absolute priority in the church."  God and God alone is the power source of the church.  Let us worship Him and enter in to His power and presence.

mjm

Comments/Questions:  michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Enjoying God's Presence!

Yes, we should enjoy His presence.  In 1648 the Westminster covenant asks, "What is the chief end of man?"  The answer given, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."  After acknowledging the presence of God, surrendering to His presence, and celebrating His presence, the next thing for us to do is to live in the enjoyment of His presence.  The act of enjoying is the worship lifestyle.  The point of recognizing His presence is not just for the sake of recognizing, but for the relationship we have with Him, engaging His presence. If we profess salvation, but never spend time with God, the profession has no meaning.  We should spend time with the Lord, meshing our lives with Him, with more and more focus and passion toward Him.
When we are continually getting to know God, desiring more of Him in our lives, we will proclaim the glory of God's presence throughout every part of our lives.  When we recognize God's great worth, we are compelled to share that which we have experienced.  As we have said before, missions is not for mission's sake.  The reason for missions is worship.  We participate in mission with God as a result of enjoying Him. It is all about sharing the joy, rivers of living water flowing out to others because we have been with Him, enjoying Him in worship and joining Him in mission.

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

"High and Lifted Up"

Isaiah 6 is a very instructive passage in our private and corporate worship.  Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up, and when He sees God in all of his fullness, he sees himself..."Woe is me, for I am undone."  We can not truly come into the manifest presence of God and not see ourselves as sinners in need of grace.
But in the following verses it says your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.  Praise God we don't have to live in that place of guilt.  When we look God in the face in all of his Holiness, we see ourselves corrupt and in total depravity and yet, through His provision in Christ Jesus, our guilt is gone, our sins wiped out.  Holy, yet merciful God is He!
Once we have seen Him, come to acknowledge our sin, been forgiven, then He challenges us to move forward by asking, "Whom shall I send?  Who will go?"  Because He is God and because of His grace our answer should be, "Here am I, send me."  And then He says, "Go and tell this people."
When we experience the manifest presence of God and walk in His mercy and grace, we will want to be on mission with Him in helping others to see that He is worthy of our worship.  Then, the passion of our hearts will be helping others in His power and strength to desire to worship Him! mjm

Questions/Comments:  michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Manifest Presence of God

There is a difference between the omnipresence of God and the manifest presence of God.  Rom. 12:1 says, "I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship."  The Message says, "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life - and place it before God as an offering.   Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.  Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You'll be changed from the inside out."  He is manifest only when we are aware of His presence, as we surrender to the Spirit of God so He can show us the work of the Father and Son.  When we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself  to us.  

Worship is not just an event, it is a lifestyle.  In John 15:5 we find these words, "I am the vine, you are the branches, apart from me you can do nothing." In the complete awareness of His presence, as we become obedient to Him, living out our worship, His presence becomes manifest.  His power becomes very evident around us.  Reality is, we must go beyond the event and see evidence of kingdom fruit.  Where God's presence is manifest, we will see His power bearing spiritual fruit for His glory. Our public worship is an outcome of our personal/private worship and our obedience to Him in allowing Him to bear fruit in and through our lives. mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Bottom Line of Worship

The bottom line of worship is to become captivated by the presence of God.  Or, the point of worship is to practice the presence of God.  As seen in Luke 7:37-38, this woman's story is a reminder that true worship begins with recognizing God's presence.  We see, all through scripture, that people encounter God and then they respond to the encounter with worship.
Bottom line, worship is not about what "style" of worship, what kind of music, who is leading worship, or how it is being led.  It is about the people of God gathering in awe of Him, captivated by His glorious presence, and keeping the focus on Him.  We need to be careful that we are not people who are very critical of a worship service.  This could be a sign of a spiritual problem.  If we fall into this trap we are failing to acknowledge and keep the focus on God's presence.  And, in some worship environments it is harder to stay focused on Him.
There should be no such thing as wonderful preachers, wonderful singers, wonderful instrumentalists, wonderful songs or great performances in the presence of God.  And there are no horrible preachers, horrible musicians, or horrible performances, if all the focus is on Him!
When God's presence is the focus, all those other things are not all that important.  In the Ozark Hills of Arkansas this week, we've seen some very gifted people and talked about their giftedness.  At these gatherings we tend to focus on the giftedness.  At these gatherings we tend to focus on the gifted.  But, when the Body of Christ gathers, we focus on the Giver.
God's presence makes all things lowly and humbled and all things blessed by Him.  mjm

Questions/Comments:  michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Not Forsaking our First Love

There is no power for the doing of evangelism, ministry, and missions apart from the power of God on our lives through true worship.  We are living in a time when the church has forsaken her first love.  Tozer said, "God is infinitely more concerned that He has worshippers than that He has workers." God is lifting up those within the Body who will turn their hearts completely toward Him, whose passion is for His name and His glory.  Their following of God is not about what they can do or where they are going, but is mainly about Him - knowing, loving, and pursuing Him.  They are Following Me to Me.  They are convinced that in following Christ to Himself, God will fulfill his promise to make them fishers of men.
When someone is really walking with God, they will become passionate for that which God is passionate.  It is God's concern and passion that His name be glorified in all the earth, seeing all come to repentance, and His people a light to the world.  True worshippers are equally devoted to the work of God, as they are to worship.  However, works without worship is just a bunch of hot air that does not glorify God.  Believers who get caught up in work without worship burn out or become dependent on self rather than on the Savior.  Not only will they burn out, Scripture clearly says their works will burn up.  Unless we return to our first love and become the true worshippers God desires, the sight of churches closing their doors will become common.  If we are unable to understand that our first call is to be true worshippers, we will never experience Him doing His great work in us and through us as we are fully yielded to Him for His glory! mjm


Comments/Questions - michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Our Purpose - Worship or Witness? - Yes

Rick Warren uses five words to summarize the Biblical purposes of the Church: "1) Magnify,  2) Mission, 3) Membership, 4) Maturity,  5) Ministry."  I agree that all of these are purposes of the church.  However, I believe worship, which he calls, "Magnify", is not a purpose, but is the purpose from which all of the other purposes flow.  If we are true worshippers, all the other purposes - ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship will be natural outflows of our worship, empowered by Him.  I believe that to be in complete agreement with both The Great Commandment and the Great Commission!  "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."  The One who calls us to the life of righteousness is the very One who by our consent, will live that life through us.  The One who calls us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, is the One who by our consent, goes and preaches to every creature through us.  The divine genius of our Lord is that our witness and ministry would be a natural outcome of our worship.

There is no better statement on mission and worship than this one by John Piper:

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church.  Worship is.  Missions exists because worship doesn't.  Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.  When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, mission will be no more.  It is a temporary necessity.  But worship abides forever.

"Worship, therefore is both the fuel and the goal in mission.  It's the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God's glory.  The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God."  mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Great Commandment and Great Commission

Recapping last blog, the invitation or call to worship is literally "Come follow Me to Me."  The blessing is Jesus, Himself.  The result is "He will make us fishers of men."  When it's all of Him in all of me, I will be a fisher of men.  So it is a call to worship before work.  This dovetails with The Great Commandment and Commission.
The Great Commandment in Mark 12:30-31 says, "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."  Worship is all about loving God with all that we are.   The Great Commission in Matt. 28:19-20, states, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing . . . and teaching them to obey."  The commission is summed up in loving people.
The Great Commission is the fruit of The Great Commandment.  Neither trumps the other.  They are in essence one command.  Evidence of this is Jesus' following the great commandment with, "the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself."  It is impossible to be a God Worshipper and not be a missionary.  True worship results in missions.  However, "Missions is not the goal - worship is.  You can't neglect worship and expect to be truly fruitful in missions.  It's impossible.  Worship is the fuel of missions.  The road to missions is paved with worship," states Gary Wright.  More in our next blog. mjm

Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Come Follow Me - A Call to Worship

In Matt. 4 we find Jesus saying to Peter and Andrew, "Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  We sometimes tend to put the emphasis on the last part.  But we need to see that Jesus' call to follow is really a call to worship.  The first requirement of walking with Jesus is to "come".  He doesn't say do this or do that, but simply "Come to me".  We must first come if we want to experience the power of God in our lives.

When Jesus sets out to call his disciples He says in the most literal translation, "Come follow to me."  Jesus is giving not just an invitation to follow Him, but to get to know Him.  "If you follow me, I will lead you to myself",  follow me to me.  Gary Wright says, "The journey and the destination are both the same - Jesus!"  As Col. 3:4 says, "Christ . . . is our life."  This is our invitation to be true God-worshippers.  The invitation is to Follow Me to Me and the gift is Me - Jesus.   The pursuit of Jesus is true worship.  Wherever the focus of our hearts and affections are directed, that is what we are worshipping, plain and simple.  Jesus' invitation for us to Follow Me to Me  is an invitation for us to turn all of our affection, attention, and effort toward Him.  He's leading us to Himself.  Praise be to God, it's all of Him in all of me.  May it be so.  More on the second part of this next time.

mjm

Any comments or questions: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

The Presence of God in Worship

When the people of God gather for worship, the purpose should be to recognize the presence of God.  We gather as the redeemed and agree that "God is here".  If worship is dead, it is because of a lack of true recognition of God's presence. Singing is just singing and preaching is just noise and all of it a waste of our time if it is not flowing from the recognition of God's presence.  The church can gather and merely hang out doing meaningless ritual or we can gather in true recognition of God's presence.

Tozer wrote, "If you do not know the presence of God in your office, your factory, your home, then God is not in the church when you attend."  Also Tozer, who had a passion for worship, states, "If you major on knowing God and cultivate a sense of His presence in your daily life and 'practice the presence of God' daily seeking to know the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, you will go a long way in serving your generation for God.  No man has any right to die until he has served his generation." 

Bottom line, if we don't actively acknowledge the presence of God daily and attend to personal private worship, we will probably not experience the presence of God when the body gathers.  Let's do all we can do to pray and prepare for worship that engages the presence of our Lord.  Psalm 89:15-"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord." mjm


Comments or Questions: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org

Igniting a Passion for the presence of God

Our worship leading choir has committed this year to praying, preparing musically and spiritually with a passion for the presence of God in our worship as a church.  If we don't pray expecting His presence who will?  If we don't prepare in our own private worship time during the week, who will?  And if we don't pursue God with passion, who will?
Every believer in the body is a worship leader for others in the way they participate in worship.  In fact in Psalm 40 we find that even the unbelievers are watching to see us "sing unto the Lord a new song", with the result of "many fearing and trusting in the Lord."
We don't gather for a "religious service"; that would be the religion Pastor Steve talked about this Lord's Day.  No, we gather as the body to engage a living Lord worthy of our worship.
George Barna found in studies that less than one out of five churches rated worship to be a top priority, and that most of those in attendance did not experience the presence of God.  We are not about playing big church.  The essence of worship is engaging the presence of God.  Psalm 100:2 is saying to us, "Worship the Lord with joy or gladness, sing yourself into His presence. " I Cor. 14:15 says, "I will pray in the spirit with understanding and I will sing in the spirit with understanding."  May the Worship Leading Choir and the Worshippers (Congregation) both, pray, prepare, and gather in His presence weekly, igniting a passion for the presence of God.
mjm

Comments or Questions: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org