Worship A Matter of an Undivided Heart

Our worship theme for the year is "Making His Praise Known"  . . . having to do with Proclaiming the Lord.  Proclaim means to make known publicly.  At the very heart of the gospel is the mission to make God known to the world.  Authentic worship is based in the desire to make God known to all peoples - beginning with our families, the neighbor next door and reaching around the earth.  Can it be possible for us to truly seek God, cherish God, and glorify God without being one who proclaims God?  True worship will always  result or culminate in an outward focus.  

Our Missions Theme this year is "Totally His, Heart, Hands, Voice".  In Matthew 22: 36- 39, Jesus is asked which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses.  Jesus says, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."  And the second is to "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus makes this the priority.  We can never hope to be His hands or His voice until we are so "totally His" that we know His heart for every lost one.  So, first are we totally His?  God not only sees our gifts, our sacrifice and service, but He sees right through to our hearts.  With God the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. (I Sam. 16:7)  Until our heart belongs to Him, totally and completely, we can not hope to be His heart, hands, and voice to the world around us.  

We live in a day when there is so much to distract and deflect our attention, time, and energy away from loving God to the point that we are "totally His".  May we cry out with the Psalmist - "Give me an undivided heart!" (Psalm 86:11)  If we are "totally His"  we will give, we will go, we will pray-- being involved in God's mission to the world like never before as we, in seeking Him, become - His Heart - His Hands - His Voice to all peoples of the earth! Our level of worship will determine how involved we will be in God's mission.  mjm

True Worship Leads to Rest

Hebrews 4 has these words for us: "God's promise of entering His rest sill stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.  For only we who believe can enter His rest.  So, let us do our best to enter that rest.  But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall." If our worship is authentic it will lead us to the following:

First, we must believe with all our hearts there is a rest in a life of faith.  We have to speak and believe that there is rest into which Jesus can bring us into a complete trust in Him.  Worship brings us to the point of knowing that God keeps us every hour in His mighty power.  Second, we are brought to the experience of believing that the grace of Jesus proves sufficient every day, every hour bringing us into a life of rest in Him.  Third, as a result of our worship we come to know that because of our union in Christ, "I can do all things through Him that strengthens me" and "we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us".  As we come to truly know Him in worship, He gives us the strength to stand firm in His victory.  

This is no effort of our own.  God must bestow it on us.  We can not take hold of it without Him.  We are brought into a conscious realization of utter helplessness and self-despair.  Only then is He able to draw near and ask us to trust Him completely to work rest into our hearts.  God gives the rest.  We must give up ourselves to the holy and everlasting God, for Him to lead us into this perfect rest.  When we do, we can trust God to make it all real to us in our experience with Him.  Our worship should lead us to live a life not in our own strength, but a life in which God shall be our all in all.  Pray today: "Oh, God, I ask, I expect, I trust Thee for it.  I enter this day into the rest of God to keep me every hour of every day."  He will take you and the work will be done, and we will find that worship leads to rest and rest leads to worship.  mjm

Song, Prayer and Obedience

There are principles found in 2 Chronicles 5 and 7 that get me really over the top excited about potential worship.  In chapter 5, starting with verse 12, we find that God has established that the trumpeters (instrumentalists) and singers are to be one (unison) in their praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.  And gloriously, the result was the house of the Lord filled with a cloud of glory to the point the priests were unable to stand and minister.  God's glory filled the house.  Now, what had to take place? First the instrumentalists and singers were called.  Second they became one.  I believe that becoming one has to do with preparation, both musically and spiritually, to the point of their being one in spirit and one in the Spirit.  And we see the result -  Hallelujah!

The second principle is found in chapter 7 beginning with verse 1.  Here we find that Solomon finishes his prayer, then the offerings and sacrifices are made to the Lord.  And the same result as above - the glory of the Lord filled the temple to the point the priests could not enter.  And the people bowed down, worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord!  WOW!  Can we get our hearts around these principles?  If God is to show Himself and His glory, God's people have got to play and sing His song, pray, and be willing to be a "living sacrifice" unto Him by obeying all He has commanded.  

A word to our worship choir - Choir, this is why we work so hard to offer our very best to the Lord through thorough preparation musically.  This is why we emphasize prayer for one another, for our church, and for the worship of our church.  And this is why we emphasize the importance of every worship choir member's "letting the word of Christ dwell richly" -  becoming obedient to Him.  It is only as we commit faithfully to do these things that we can have any hope of seeing God's glory in our worship together.  Song - Prayer - Obedience results in His glory!  Hallelujah! mjm

Teach Me to Worship

In the last blog we said it is very simple.  Fear God and keep His commandments.  And truly that is the beginning of worship.  However, I had someone once say,  "Teach me to worship."  Well, I thought, in the first place we are made to worship and if we are His it shouldn't be difficult.  

But there is a place to go and learn more about worship as you are literally practicing worship - the ancient hymn book, the Psalms.  I committed a long time ago to read through the Psalms and Proverbs every month until I go to be with the Lord.  It amazes me how after all this time, God still speaks fresh new things to me every day from the Psalms.  The Psalms is a book of songs.   God's people have always loved songs.  Throughout scripture the saints of God expressed both their joy and their sorrow.  Songs of gladness and sadness were sung.  Songs of adoration, gratitude and grievance were sung.  Songs were sung to inspire prophets, enthrone kings, celebrate marriages, lament deaths, celebrate harvest, exorcise evil spirits, accompanying feasts, work, war, and worship.  Job says even the stars once sang (Job 38:1).   The first mention of music is in Genesis 4 where we see the instrumentalist, Jubal, playing instruments and singing.  Man has been playing and singing ever since. The word "sing" is used more than 120 times in God's Word.  Singing was and is an important part of worship.

We see the importance given to it in the Psalms.  The Psalms, or the Psalter, is a complete book of the Bible devoted to the expression of truth through melody.  Its title in the Jewish Bible is Tehilim ("praises" or "hymns").  It was literally the song book of Israel.  In the Psalms we find songs of praise, history, lament, wisdom, penitence, imprecation (cursing of enemies), ascent (people going up to worship), prophecy (including Messianic), thanksgiving, prayer, and more.  The composers of these songs were living out  multifaceted lives and involving song in living and worshipping.  

I would challenge you to learn to worship by reading, singing, and praying the Psalms, sometimes out loud.  If you will do that, you will discover you are becoming a learner of worship.  mjm

It's Really Very Simple

The writer of Ecclesiastes really puts it very straight as to what is required.  In chapter 12, the writer talks about the importance of wisdom and in living well.  Then in verses 12-13, he suggests that the constant publishing of books and constant study wears us out to the point of being good for nothing else.  Then he says, "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."  

This made me think of some people who go to endless Bible studies and yet, there never seems to be a change or impact on the way they live their lives.  We are all guilty of this.  But it also got me to thinking about the myriad of books that have been written on worship, going in to great detail of God's intentions and instruction about worship.  Many of us have studied them until blue in the face, and yet many of us still want worship the way we want it, or we make it far more complicated than it is.  

Whether it be our daily walk of faith, which in itself is worship, or our worship events or gatherings, it is rather simple - "Fear God and obey His commandments."  Wow, that really sums a lot up for our worship when we are gathered together, as well as working out our worship in our daily walk with Him.  mjm

Worship Music Beyond the Walls

Our worship music should not stay inside the walls of the church.  It should become an integral part of our everyday lives.  All cultures sing and create music that helps them to express their deepest thoughts,  passions and concerns about all of life.  The songs we sing in worship should be recalled in all kinds of circumstances and situations in our lives.  These songs should grow us and encourage us in our faith- walk as we recall their words and music.  

Our worship music should speak to us throughout life from our early days of childhood to old age.  Our worship music should provide a support that will nurture us through all the different stages of life.  We have a responsibility to teach songs to our children that go further than cute and novel.  We must teach them songs that have texts that will fill their minds with thoughts of God the Creator and Redeemer, and His plan for them.  

Music is a natural part of life, even for non-musicians, that needs to offer life-long texts and music that sustain a faith for a lifetime.  We must carry our worship music outside the walls of the church in our everyday comings and goings with our families and friends.  It has much to offer in the growth and nurture of our faith. mjm

Worship in Pursuit of Truth

In my readings this week a very familiar passage caught my eye and mentally grabbed me by the shoulders.  John 4:23-24 - "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  Over the years I've heard people try to say that "spirit" here is speaking of the Holy Spirit, but it is not.  There are other passages that show us the "Spirit's" involvement in our worship, but that is not what it is really being talked about here.  It is referring to our spirits, all that we are - mentally, emotionally, and bodily.  

When we look at the verse previous to this one, we see Jesus saying it is not where or how you worship that matters.  As far as the Lord is concerned it's who you are and how you are living out your faith before God that counts.  I love the way the Message puts it - "Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth." The Father is seeking out those kinds of worshipers - those who come very simply and honestly, being themselves before Him in their worship. Our churches have many people who come week after week seeking truth, but never seem to engage their spirits. 

We are challenged in this passage  to worship Him out of our very being, out of our spirits, our true selves, all that we are in adoration of Him.  Do we let go and do that?  I wonder.  I see people lose themselves in family, recreation, spectator sports, certain kinds of music and all kinds of other stuff.  But, do we reserve greater passion and our whole selves for adoration and praise of Creator - Redeemer God?  And, are we constantly pursuing with all that we are life changing truth from His Word in our worship?  I think these are exactly what Jesus' challenge is to us in John 4.  "Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth".  Amen and Amen.  mjm

Worship Evangelism

Many get all hung up when you use those two words together.  It has become more appreciated due to a book several years ago by that very name.  As worshippers we have a passion for God's glory.  It is an awesome experience when all of God's people worship Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Some think we have to "dumb" that down to also have evangelism in our worship.  However, scripture indicates that it is when the lost see and hear God's people worshipping Him that they are moved toward Him in the power of God's Spirit.

Apart from God our friends, neighbors and family members are lost.  We should be motivated to let them see the Lord and Savior through our worship.  But, you say, how does evangelism mix with worship.  Well, our ultimate goal is to make them worshippers of Him.  So, our motivation to love them and worship before them is part of that great commandant to love Him with all that we are, and others as ourselves.  

Love for others, however, should not really be the primary driver for evangelism.  Rather, our passion for God's glory should be the basic incentive that drives us to share the gospel with unbelievers.  We should want all peoples to be able to hear and respond to His good news because as Psalm 48:1 says, "God is great and greatly to be praised."

As we grow in our faith and in our worship we should become more and more motivated by a zeal for God's glory in wanting to see others find out how wonderful and awesome God is. We grow in our desire for them to experience His love, not just so they can be healed and transformed but that they might give glory and honor to God with their whole lives, yes, so that they might worship Him!  

May we worship Him with our whole heart seeking to add new worshippers to the community of faith!  May we cover the earth with His glory "making His praise known to all".  mjm

My Music vs. His Music in Worship

I serve in a congregation that is multi-generational in nature.  We have families of four and five generations represented in our congregation.  That makes it very challenging when choosing music for worship.  Because we are a multi-generational church and have a lot of intergenerational relationships in our church, we have chosen up to this point to not have a traditional hymn-driven service nor a modern praise and worship service, nor a gospel song-driven service.  We do all kinds of music in our worship week by week as we seek to worship Him according to who our congregation is, and as we seek to reach out and disciple others in His name.

The pendulum swings back and forth on styles of music used in worship.  For many years it was gospel songs; for many years it was more classical hymns; for many years it became praise and worship choruses; for years it became modern songs; the pendulum swung back to hymns with a more modern setting; and one of the things now is the songs of Christian artists.  At one time or another we try to touch on the best of all of these in our congregational worship.  But, that's just it.  It is congregational worship - worship of ALL the people.  

Whatever we do in worship must be accessible to all the people.  I constantly deal with that tension of trying to make all that we do accessible to all people and make sure in the process that it is not about a particular style of music, but about Him.  I had someone not long ago say to me, "I just can't worship unless is it with a Hymn."  I so wanted to say,  "It is more important that you worship with Him than with a Hymn."  I think if our real focus was on the Lord, there would be much less discussion of what we sing and more about Who we sing to and about.

The newest thing is the very popular songs of Christian artists that people seem to think should be used in worship.  I have nothing against artists.  But, much of the music being used by these artists cover at least one and a half octaves in their ranges, which makes it impossible for a congregation to sing effectively.  When we go to hear a Christian artist it is usually mostly to "listen".  Not so in congregational worship.  The songs, hymns, and spiritual songs we sing in worship need to be accessible to the congregation as a whole so that as many as possible can join in exalting the Lord and lifting up the Savior in song.  May we accept that some songs are meant for Christian artists and not congregational worship?  Some theologians have said that the most important choir in the church is the congregation.  As I have studied Scripture over the years, I would concur.  mjm