I was at the Extravagant Worship Conference a few years ago with Darlene Zschech, Matt Redman and Delirious. Here’s some stuff I have carried away from there added with some things I have gathered over time. I had actually written this for the worship team in Vizag, but I think this is something we can all be blessed by. This is not my thoughts on worship, instead signposts to what scripture asks us to follow.
Here Goes....
+ Worship requires sacrifice:
Most of us understand that statement, but a lot of us dive straight into bringing the sacrifice etc…What I want to get at here is: you cant ever dream of coming with a sacrifice, unless a sacrifice has already been made to keep you alive in the presence of God . I'm talking about Jesus. Its so so so so so vital that this governs your thinking about worship. If you ever try coming to God any other way you’ve lost the plot. We all know this as part of Christian teaching and theology, but is it something that rules your heart attitude when you come before God in worship? Romans 12:1 encourages us to keep that clear as we present ourselves to God in worship. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, in view of the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” When I used to read that, I would read it in my head as “present my body, living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God…tada…my act of worship” I totally forgot that I cannot make my sacrifice holy and pleasing. That’s why the first part of the verse is key: “in view of Gods mercy (because of the sacrifice)…present yourselves”. So before you go into worship, remember the pathway, through Jesus. The priests who were ordained to minister in the Holy of Holies had their earlobes, right thumb, right big toe smeared with blood, and their robes sprinkled with blood as they presented themselves (Lev 8:22-). In David’s tabernacle, all the instruments and musicians were sprinkled with blood, as purification for worship.
Never cut corners in your preparation for worship. Are you cleansed?? Have you been washed by blood before you step up there to minster?? To put it plainly, worship is a bloody affair. In the contemporary church, we have become used to nice songs and clean suits. This would not be the case if the sacrifice of Jesus was not complete and once and for all. However, as cute as we may look in our suits and dresses, and our music equipment being impeccable: we cannot forget that the blood of Jesus cleanses us!!! So enter "in view of His mercy".
+ Worship starts with seeing God: Leviticus 9, Job 42, Revelation 5
When God made the rules for worship, He told the Israelites to bring offerings and sacrifices, after which they would SEE Him (vs4, vs6). Let me remind you that until then, God was believed, not seen in general. For me personally reading Leviticus 9 slowly, really brought it all home to me. As a result of God accepting the sacrifice, God consumed the sacrifice. and when they saw God, worship happened(vs23,vs24)!!! If we as worshipers are not practiced in seeing God regularly, spending time in His presence; don’t expect to go up on Sunday and lead the church to place where they see Him. If you are in the congregation, don’t expect a great “experience” to flood over you all of a sudden. Here’s a good place to be thankful for God who loves to show Himself despite the worshipping team getting in the way sometimes or us not being sensitised to the presence of our awesome God in the secret and quiet places of our own lives. Thankyou Lord for mercy!
+ Know who you are worshiping: Hebrews12:28, Ps 95:6, PS 5: 7
This is one area of worship most people side-step just because salvation has brought them close to God. They are “cool” with God, so however close I get, “it doesn’t matter, I’m cool!”. When you read through the first five books of The Bible, you see God teaching His people to worship. In all the times they worshipped God, they were afraid. Even when there were times of shouting and rejoicing, there was an ever present knowledge of – “Hey guys, this is our Creator we are rejoicing before”. That’s the kind of fear Im talking about, because our God is a consuming fire.
Leviticus 9 puts it like this: "Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown."
+ Worship ends with you consumed
If you read through all references to worship, there are two things that happen; an offering and a consuming. When we present ourselves as a worship band, or just as a worshipper, we come fully prepared to give our everything to glorify our most Holy God. We then pack our instrument away at the end of the service, or get off the platform after singing, or leave the building : WITH NOTHING OF “ME” LEFT. That is the whole point of all worship, that it will be something acceptable unto God which He will consume. Grab a hold of this: you being blessed by a time of worship is good, but it's not the point. Nowadays we have become consumers of worship, when instead we should be the ones consumed in worship(us the consumees, God's the consumer). Always keep that in mind as you talk to people after a meeting. This a good place for your pastoral role as a worship leader/musician/fellow believer to come in. Point people back to the reason of our coming together. Be happy that they enjoyed the worship time, but be very quick to point them back to the God who upholds all things by the word of His power and who made us for His pleasure and glory. He is the one in our midst.
I need to close now. I pray you move to new levels of intimacy with your Creator. Enjoy the presence of Abba and at the same time see The Creator of heaven and earth in His Glory. Join all creation who are right now around The Throne singing – "Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Be blessing and honour, glory and power unto The Lamb of God".
Love you all dearly,
With love and prayers,
Judah
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