Christ-follower, Husband, Dad, Pastor

praise

October 24, 2013

5 Goals of Congregational Worship

How can any Christ-follower not be passionate about worshiping God? You and I are made to worship. Our corporate expressions of worship need to truly allow our spirits to touch and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. I deeply appreciate the incredible significance and impact of each time I get to participate in congregational worship.

I hope that you will take a moment to consider FIVE GOALS of congregational worship!

#1  WE ENCOUNTER GOD’S PRESENCE!

We want to draw closer to God EVERY time we congregate. We should never lose sight of this goal. God’s presence should be the hallmark of every meeting.

Why is this goal so important? We encounter God’s Presence:

  1. To prepare (cleanse and focus) people to encounter God. Congregational worship awakens people to yield their total person to a place of TOTAL worship.
  2. To bring people into the presence of the Lord. God’s manifest presence is our priority. “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.” (Psalm 100:2 NASB)
  3. To reveal the character and deeds of God. We gather to exalt the Lord. “Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion! Declare among the peoples His doings!” (Psalm 9:11 AMP) When people see you worship, they should know that God is great by the way you praise.
  4. To build a throne for the Lord’s rulership. We invite God to move among those worshiping Him. “Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3 NASB)
  5. To make every person God-conscious. Yes, God is really alive – transcendent, yet immanent.
  6. To receive direction, change, enjoyment, and encouragement. We celebrate! Commission, direction, and edification occurs.
  7. To become more like Christ and to bring people into right relationship with Christ. Worship draws individuals to Christ (evangelism). Lives are changed in God’s presence.

# 2  WE RELEASE THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CONTINUING WORK.

Congregational worship should be an open opportunity for the Holy Spirit to do what He desires today. Hundreds of millions of Spirit-baptized believers on earth today (October 2013) testify: “It is not strange to experience the work of the Holy Spirit today!” Holy Spirit did not end His ministry in 100 AD. The Holy Spirit’s continued work through two thousand years of church history is not strange fire; it is holy fire.

Our corporate worship releases:

  • Charismatic expression (Gifts of the Spirit including tongues),
  • Prophetic flow (Consider how Elisha calls for musician in 2 Kings 3:15),
  • Conviction, comfort, and guidance,
  • Unity in the Body of Christ, and
  • God’s miraculous power  and anointing that breaks yokes (healing, salvation, deliverance, etc.).

#3  WE ENGAGE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE AGAINST THE ENEMY.

“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment — This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 149:6-9 NKJV)

#4  WE OFFER SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES TO GOD.

We serve God as priests – glorifying Him and pleasing Him. We come to the sanctuary with a focus to GIVE (not to GET). Our sacrifice of worship is an offering of something meaningful and valuable (consider the costs of our time, talent, treasure, energy).

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

#5  WE COMMUNICATE GOD’S WORD.

Congregational worship imparts truth, sound theology, strengthening, faith. Worship prepares people to receive God’s Word into their mind, into their hearts, and into their actual lives. Worship that touches heaven also inspires application and practice of the message.

Wow, have I see this! As a pastor called to teach and preach the Bible, I am still amazed by the impact of worship upon sermons. Congregational worship that really encounters God’s presence opens the way for the sermon and makes the delivery soooooooo much easier and much more effective.

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16 NASB)

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.”  (Ephesians 5:18-19 NASB)

I gave you five goals; I will conclude with five things that congregational worship is not. Congregational worship is:

  • NOT Christian karaoke,
  • NOT a platform concert,
  • NOT a spectator sport,
  • NOT shallow or superficial,
  • NOT just music we play and songs we sing (no matter how long we have practiced or how much expression we put into it).

Worship is more than just words and music; actual communion with God is necessary. Worship doesn’t occur until spirit touches Spirit.

March 28, 2013

Audience of One

Are you living before One Audience – the Lord Jesus Christ? To what audience are you playing? You will either play to an Audience of One or to an audience of many. Do you desire to please God or impress people?

When you aren’t seeking to be noticed or publicized or praised, you are released to accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom. Perhaps that is reason  Valley Fellowship Church has made such a significant impact – we want to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in the Tennessee Valley and around the world. We don’t do what we do to get praise for ourselves. We want to see Jesus exalted!

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth, but His essential audience was not people who surrounded Him. Jesus said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him [Heavenly Father].” (John 8:29b NASB) Jesus wasn’t interested in crowd approval (John 5:44) and He rebuked His listeners, “How could you possibly believe? You like to have your friends praise you, and you don’t care about praise that the only God can give!” (John 5:44 CEV)

“Most of us, whether we are aware of it or not, do things with an eye to the approval of some audience or other. The question is not whether we have an audience but which audience we have. . . . A life lived listening to the decisive call of God is a life lived before one audience that trumps all others – the Audience of One.” (Os Guinness, The Call, p. 70)

Paul was a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. I agree with Kent Hughes assessment that “Paul would have loved Eric Liddell—the runner who placed spiritual conviction and loyalty to Christ above Olympic or national glory!” (Acts: The Church Afire, p. 289) Paul lived his life before an Audience of One. Consider his words:

  • “We do not aim to please men, but to please God who knows us through and through.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 PHILLIPS)
  •  “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NLT)
  • “Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 MSG)

The Gospel of John criticizes the leaders of Jesus’ day who “were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them.” (John 12:43 GW) Are you playing your life before an Audience of One, or playing before many: your peers, your neighbors, your mentors, your family? Who you choose as your audience has a tremendous impact upon your life.

People adjust their lifestyle based upon the people around them. Children attune their own tastes, pursuing parental praise. Employees perform for a boss, or will be fired. Students adjust to the wishes of a teacher. Writers heed their readers, putting pen to what sells. Basketball players respond to fans, drawing energy, heart to play. Teenagers play to their peers, claiming to be an individual, yet listening to what others listen, dressing comparably to their friends, even styling their hair like their cliché. Have you noticed how your audience shapes your life?

The Puritans lived as if they had swallowed gyroscopes; we modern Christians live as if we have swallowed Gallup polls. Or as Martin Luther King wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “in those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” Leaders or panderers? Gyroscope or Gallup poll? Thermostat or thermometer? Only those who practice the presence of the Audience of One can hope to attain the former and escape the latter. (The Call, p. 73)

To live before an Audience of One is to consider what He thinks as what counts the most. Satisfying life results from pleasing God, not pouring out your energy for temporal praise. Seeking to live for an Audience of One — the Lord Jesus Christ —liberates you from operating out of a response to what others say about you. Make the decision now to surrender your life and your lifestyle to the Lord. Ultimate success is not fame, fortune, or power, but hearing God’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

March 1, 2013

Focused Worship or Distracted Worship?

There are times when I am leading worship I become preoccupied by the score or arrangement, or distracted by an out-of-pitch guitar string, or sidetracked by someone talking, or blurred by uncertainty in which direction to go. I know I am NOT the only one who has to take authority over my thoughts and bring them into subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that corporate worship needs my focus upon the Lord. I want to be focused upon Him, but sometimes even as a leader I can lose focus or have trouble concentrating on the Lord.

One common hindrance to being able to center upon the Lord is a lack of familiarity with the song we are singing. It is difficult to flow in Spirit-empowered worship when I am reading my musical score – chord by chord, note by note, or word by word. I’m not really connecting my spirit with Holy Spirit when my mind is crowded with thoughts about the upcoming key change, the transition to the bridge, the next song’s lyrics, or the rocking guitar solo that I wish I had more time to perfect.

Recognizing this limitation I honestly try to practice the songs as much as I can. I will sit with my guitar and sing through the prepared list. I will sing through and pray through my set list even while I am walking in the grocery store and visiting the rest room. While driving, I will repeat the recording of a new song until my daughter Kimberlyn can’t stand it any longer. I may not have the song perfected but I do want to have enough familiarity that I can focus on what’s important. I want my focus on the Lord; I want a Matthew 6:33 focus.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

Another common problem for many platform musicians and singers is lack of personal worship in private. My spiritual senses are dulled when I feast on the “world” for a week. What do I mean by “world”? Lots of things – pop music, NFL football, thanksgiving turkey, online media – whatever I consume in abundant quantity or whatever consumes my thought life during the week. I admit it – even pastors have to live in world that competes for attention. I have to remind myself to worship everyday.

I have figured out I have to tune up my spirit man before I can remain focused upon the Lord while I am in a worship service. I cannot do in front of people on Sunday mornings something that is missing from my private life. In fact, if worship is absent from my life on Monday through Saturday, worship isn’t likely to flow on Sunday. Worship really is a lifestyle. But when I take time to worship privately, my worship expression on Sunday comes much more easily.

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 NLT)

Are you tuned up spiritually? Are you ready to focus your thoughts on the Lord as we enter God’s awesome presence on Sunday? Take some time to worship privately. Shut the door to your bedroom and express yourself to the Lord. Sing, shout, play your instrument, clap, pray in the tongues, bow, even dance! I bet that if all of us do it privately on Saturday we will be able to tell a difference on Sunday.

February 21, 2013

Plastic Imitation is a Fruitless Substitute for Real Worship

I have a green plant in my office – a fake, plastic plant in the corner of my window seal. Years ago, I had a real aloe vera plant, but I eventually gave it away. The plastic plant is so much easier to maintain. I just wipe the dust off of it every once in a while and it looks fine. Artificial vegetation doesn’t need watering. Synthetic leaves don’t turn brown from lack of adequate light. Imitation roots demand no fertilize. Man-made flora looks okay. The fake plant doesn’t require my time, attention, work.

That’s the actual issue – I didn’t want to invest the energy to have a real plant; I didn’t want to spend the time; I didn’t want the work. To have a healthy and growing living plant, I have to supply soil, air, water and light – and in the right quantities. With the appropriate ingredients a plant will grow green and lush.

But . . . I don’t appreciate keeping a live plant in my office enough to do what is obligatory. Instead, I settle for a cheap substitute – the plastic plant in the corner.

I wonder how many times people settle for a cheap, fruitless substitute in worship. Honest worship naturally flows from an appreciative attitude, yielded thought-life and relinquished self-will. Unfortunately, much of what is labeled “worship” is actually a plastic imitation, a karaoke caricature of the real thing. Is the spectator/performance mentality of so many the natural result of a lack of interest in doing what is required to have healthy living worship?

To really worship, to really connect spirit with Spirit, effort is required. Spirit-empowered worship entails time in God’s presence. It mandates spiritual connection to the True Vine we as believers are connected as branches.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.” (John 15:5 MSG)

Worship is a living, breathing exchange between the Lord Jesus Christ and His beloved bride. Worship shouldn’t just be turned on and off on weekends. Folks who only worship when someone is watching them don’t inspire worship in others. People perceive the emptiness. They may not be able to identify the impediment, but will sense something fake, something artificial, something plastic about the worship. Connection to the Vine is demanded.

For worship to flourish like a plant with beautiful, deep green leaves, we must connect with God EVERY day. My wife and daughters know I treasure them when I spend time with them. Time is the commodity by which I water, fertilize, and cultivate the relationships I value. Time is the super bloom for healthy relationships.

It is not too late to revive your worship! Just because there are some browning leaves on the plant doesn’t mean it’s time to throw away the plant! No matter how you feel, there is hope. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Draw near and He will run to you. Let your worship blossom!

Invest time privately in connecting with the Lord. With your investment, God’s noticeable presence will be experienced. Your private worship will prepare the way for incredible worship experiences during Sunday services. Connection with God allows worship to have life, truth, joy, peace – God’s manifest kingdom.

I may settle for a plastic plant in my office, but I am not willing to relinquish real worship in the sanctuary. I want worship gatherings at Valley Fellowship to fulfill God’s ordained purpose. I want our congregational worship to be real. I want us to touch heaven. Please, join with me in greening up our worship! Spend some time with The Vine.

January 18, 2013

7 Points to Ponder (seven word summary of Acts)

A precise perusal of the Book of Acts portrays people participating with the Holy Spirit. I’ve put pen to paper and pigeonholed seven particulars from their personal pursuits:

#1 PRAYER:  Disciples pray – packed in one place, privately on roof tops, during imprisonment, with fasting, for boldness and guidance – and God answers!

#2 POWER:  Christ-exalting phenomena are publicized – lame pace, phony liars die, prison doors open, tongues speak, demons flee, dead rise.

#3 PARTNERSHIP:  Property, cooperation, and community are politely portioned and shared together in love.

#4 PRAISE:  Worship proceeds in the upper room, despite threats, after salvation, after Spirit Baptism, after healing, after miracle deliverance, after torture, and even for the privilege of suffering for Christ.

#5 PERSECUTION:  Persecution is both a path for Holy Spirit ministry and a product of Holy Spirit engagement.

#6 PREACHING:  The Spirit-inspired public proclamations of Peter and Paul are published.

#7 PROSELYTISM:  For pattern’s sake, I employed a posh word for the prolific addition of people into God’s family. Holy Spirit ministry prompted thousands and thousands into the kingdom.

Praise the Lord who provides, protects, preserves, and promotes! I propose a painstaking probe of my provocative phrases. I promise – pondering and picking up on these points propels positive progress.

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