On Earth As It Is In Heaven

I got to thinking, "What does that phrase mean to worship for the here and now?"  I read about someone who had coined the phrase "throne zone" in trying to describe the atmosphere of worship around the throne.  I wonder what would happen if somehow we could experience the "throne zone" on earth, as the reality of heaven is in our churches.  I believe enough in what I read in scripture that we should gather for worship expecting the manifest presence of God in our services and that we should pray and expect revival in our cities.  If we were experiencing the manifest presence of the Lord in our worship the lost would be coming to Christ on a massive scale of which we haven't seen.  Christ said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men near. . . " I think we have come to concentrate on the "drawing" instead of the "lifting".

Someone said, "If good sermons and good songs were going to save the world, it would already be saved."  There is a divine ingredient missing: simply put, it is the manifest presence of God.  The only way we will see this is through prayer and repentance on the part of God's people.  "If my people will humble themselves, and pray . . . seek my face . . . and repent." (II Chron. 7:14)  It is about seeking Him with all that we are.  

Today we must abandon entertainment-based worship that tickles our ears...that just makes us feel good.  We must seek His face and His glory so that God's anointing will cause us to see His glory and all of us will never be the same.  We need to pray the prayer of Moses, "Show me your glory." If we want to see His glory in worship we must realize that only broken vessels can hold the heavenly glory.  Someone said that He would only come through the cracks of our brokenness.  

May we realize our prayer for worship as a church is prayer for heaven sent revival.  May we have a hunger for Him; a hunger for His presence.  We must empty our jars of "self" before He can fill them up with Himself.  Some of you may be saying, "that's radical".  But according to scripture it could be the norm.  May we increase our hunger for Him in our worship.  mjm

Gospel-Centered Worship

What we demonstrate outwardly in our worship should come from within as a response to the truth of the Gospel in us.  The two most important words for worship in the Bible are histahawah in Hebrew and proskuneo in Greek. Both of these words translate bending over at the waist or falling prostrate as in reverence to a king.  In Deut. 6:5, and repeated by our Lord in the New Testament, we are called to love God with our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are not disembodied spirits; therefore, God desires we use our whole beings to bring Him praise. In Ps. 16:9 we find the words, "My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure."  And David proclaims in Ps. 34: 4 - 5, "Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."  Even our faces should shine and show a response when we look to the One who has delivered us; when we have been with Him.  Without that, our worship is lifeless orthodoxy and legalism.  

But the other side of that is when our feelings and affections are not tied to truth.  The result is sensationalism.  Neither legalism nor sensationalism lead to gospel-centered worship.  Our feelings or affections must be tied to our understanding of the truth.  One can easily fabricate physical expressions and create showmanship in worship while living in sin.  In fact, in Isaiah 1:15 we are challenged by these words, "When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you, even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood."  Physical expressions of worship must grow out of rich moments in the presence of the Lord.  They are commanded and modeled in scripture as a way of giving glory to God: Singing (Ps. 9:2), Standing (Is. 29:23), Shouting (Ps. 71:23), Praying (Ps. 5:3), Dancing (Ps. 31:11; 149:3), Sitting (2 Sam. 7:18), Clapping (Ps. 47:1), Laying prostrate (Matt. 26:39), Lifting hands (Ps. 134:2), Bowing low (Ex. 34:8).  These  are just some of the ways of response.  

We should be worshippers who know the truth richly and deeply, therefore feeling deeply, and expressing passionately our worship before the Lord... for His glory!  Even as Paul, may our work and worship be fruitful and glorifying, empowered by the Holy Spirit and saturated with Truth - never shrinking from declaring all of God's truth! (Acts 20:27) If in fact we do that, we will know and experience Gospel-Centered Worship.  mjm

Hebrews and Today's Worship

First of all the book of Hebrews shows us that worship is to be rooted and grounded in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  That is central.  He is the King-Priest over the household of God. Our worship of Him must go beyond sentimental and emotional devotion and be fully rooted in a mature faith in the fullness of Christ.  It leads to full obedience of life lived under His Lordship.

In an age of the cult of "Self" and a consumerist approach to life, we must emphasize the uniqueness of Christ in both His person and work.  Through Him and Him alone is granted access to the Father, only on His terms. Hebrews undoes any thought of mystical communion with God apart from the mediation of Christ.  We are challenged in this book to never allow the thought of this world being our home.  We are to continually emphasize that the church is a pilgrim people.  This gives us the spiritual maturity needed to deal with the sufferings of life in the midst of worship.

Also, Hebrews makes it clear that we must take seriously the gathering together of the people of God and His incredible power of the Word revealed in our midst.   This is where the people of God are empowered to endure the sufferings that come with the identification with Christ in our worship of Him. We are strengthened  to bear up under the world's hostility against God and His people in the midst of worship.  Christ is right in the middle drawing our eyes and hearts to the throne of grace, where the needs of sinful and suffering people can find mercy and grace.

As elsewhere in the New Testament, Hebrews reminds us of the tie between our public and private worship lives.  We must see that our worship extends past the gatherings of God's people for formal worship; but we must do it without minimizing the power and importance of corporate acts of worship. There must be an acknowledgment of the important interrelationship between both realms of worship.  One writer has said, "In Hebrews substance has replaced the shadow, and the eternal has replaced the trivial."  The reading and study of Hebrews truly shapes today's worship.  mjm

Deficient Worship

A deficient view of God's Word leads to a deficient view of God, which results in a deficiency in our worship.  Our Worship must be built upon, shaped by, and saturated by the Word of God. 

The Word of God . . .

• reveals God's glory (Is. 40:5)
• is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path (Ps.119:105)
• is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirt, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12)
• keeps us from sinning (Ps. 119:11)
• is at work in believers (I Thess. 2:13)
• is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)
• makes one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15)
• is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16)
• makes the man of God complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:17)
• stands forever (Is. 40:8)
• is the theme of my song wherever I lodge (Ps. 119:54)

The last one in the list says, "Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge."  I consider that to be my "life" verse, and have told my wife I would like for it to be on my tombstone.  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . singing!" (Col. 3:16)  God's Word must be foundational to our understanding and practice of worship; without it we will surely have deficient worship.  mjm

Some Weaknesses in "Contemporary" Worship Songs

I am really working at being objective but know I am running the risk of sounding old and antiquated.   In previous blogs I have talked about some of the strengths and contributions to worship that "contemporary" songs bring to the table.  I feel I also need to address weaknesses.  Many of these "contemporary" songs inspire and move the individual but are not really intended to reach, teach, enrich or edify a body of believers.  There is no doubt that many arose out of a private worship experience.  However, sometimes problems arise when the song is introduced into congregational worship.  Worship songs for the body of believers are different in nature and scope.

In much of contemporary secular music there is a tendency toward mindless repetition that inhibits the people from thinking analytically and structurally. This mindless repetition of today's popular music numbs people's minds and disables their thought process and can be manipulated by satan.  The spirit of the world would seek to distract and disable disciples of Christ.  It is not that God is against good feelings and/or entertainment.  There are some songs that make us feel good, but the church must go beyond feel-goods; the church needs songs that disciple and grow people in worship of the Lord. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Rom 12:2).

The renewing of our minds requires thought and the development of disciples as thinking people.  Yes, we need to be culturally relevant; but we need to draw culture past where it arrives on its own. Music birthed from the hearts of believers can and should do more to strengthen the church. Christian composers, lyricists, and artists can incorporate some trends in popular music without depending on them, and making sure they enrich and edify rather than distract from the discipling and worship in the church.  

The participation of all of God's people in the body worship of the church has long been a Biblical principle.  We can not become congregations that simply enjoy gifted choirs, or gifted worship teams and bands without corporate participation.   A congregation of observers has never been the aim or goal of the worship of God's people.  The song and the method of leadership ultimately must always be for the enhancement of congregational participation.  "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"  mjm

Homefront Worship

On this Mother's Day, I remember how my mother read scripture to my sisters and me every day as we were growing up.  Then as we learned to read she would assign us to read from Bible Story books and give us tests on what we had read.  Deuteronomy 6: 5 - 9 reads: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

The focus of these words which Jesus quoted on worship move from personal worship to family worship.  At first the focus is on God's Word and words.  We are challenged to build our families on and around the Word of God.  Of course along with God speaking to us from His Word is our speaking to Him through prayer as a family around the table, family gatherings, etc.  You can only grow to love in a relationship through two-way communication.

Worship should be the soundtrack of our homes.  Not just listening to Christian music in the home but singing should be a natural expression of worship in our homes.  Christians are a singing people.  Psalm 118:15 states, "Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous."  Singing is a very beneficial activity for families.  Even grandparents can contribute.  It is a wonderful thing to hear your grandchildren singing, years later, what you sang with them as young children; truths which continue to enrich their lives in the Lord.  

Matthew Henry once said, "They that pray in the family do well; they that pray and read the scriptures do better; but they that pray, and read, and sing do best of all."  From the time our children were preschoolers, I began to compose simple scripture songs for them.  We were amazed that they learned large portions of scripture by singing it to a simple tune.  May our homes be a doxology of worship.  Happy Mothers Day!  mjm

Be Still and Know in a Hectic World

I was thinking not long ago that sometimes I have my quiet time hearing from God's Word and praying early morning and once it is "done" I don't think much about it the rest of the day.  If we are not careful our "spiritual life" gets disconnected from the rest of our day or life.  

If a husband and wife only talk once a day, their relationship is not going to grow very deep.  We need to have heart and soul enriching experiences scattered throughout our day to deepen our relationship with the Lord.  Just like anything else it won't happen unless we plan it.  These "spiritual" experiences can be anything we do to encounter God once again in a personal way.  It can be as simple as shutting our office door and praying briefly.  It can be a walk around the block for a few minutes of solitude.  We could even set an alarm on our watch or phone to remind us to pray throughout the day at particular times.  

Sometimes it is even during mundane activities that we are able to have a soulish experience with the Lord.  Going over memorized verses as we do mundane things like putting lunches together or  shaving.  With technology today we can play audio verses or portions of the Bible over the sound system as we drive.  I happen to be the kind of personality that can go in Starbucks and have a cup of coffee and read from scripture, shutting out any noise around me.  

The Bible tells us to be still and know God (Psalm 46:10).  This is important for our personal worship preparation.  Given our frantic schedules today, we must make time for Him if we hope to have Paul's passion, "that I may know Him."  I saw a quote the other day from a lady, Kathleen Norris, "It is a paradox of human life that in worship, as in human love, it is in the routine and everyday that we find the possibilities for the greatest transformation."  Some of my most creative ideas and "leadings or nudgings" from the Lord have come in the shower or in the back yard watering my container garden.  We need to plan and allow time to replenish  spiritually in the midst of the mundane activities in our lives.    It will make us better worshippers. mjm

In This Holy Hour

Well, I don't usually re-live the worship time in the blog but, feel led today. What a holy hour it is when God's people gather together for the purpose of remembering all He has done and is doing in our lives.  We gather, reminding one another of His faithfulness.  As we look across the congregation of people we see those who have been through difficult times. We see those who are now going through difficult times and we remember His faithfulness which gives us peace that passes all human understanding, and grace that is always, always, always, sufficient to get us through.  We celebrate together that through His blood we enter into that kind of being "kept in His love."  

Also, we come seeking not just His hand, but His face as we bow in worship knowing His power and His grace.  We need to come every week to worship expecting His power, expecting to see His grace fall upon lives and change lives.  We need to come expecting to be reminded of the Holiness of God. We need to come ready "to stand in His presence amazed and crown Him with worship and praise," singing and shouting "Holy is He!".

And after we've stood and sung and heard from His Word, such as the great message our Pastor shared this morning, we are challenged to complete our worship by going outside the doors of this holy place and holy hour and become the face of Jesus to a world in need of Him.  As we go, may others see Jesus in us, otherwise our time with Him becomes a "clanging gong and tinkling cymbal."  May the holy hour affect our lives as we walk with Him day by day and moment by moment.  mjm