I love the musical worship we have at Torch. If you have ever been there, you have likely witnessed me in the back with my bass going positively nuts. But God has laid on my heart a challenge to the way that we approach worship.
Worship ≠ Music
Two things happen during musical worship; there is an emotional reaction to the music and a physical/audible expression of that emotional reaction. This is only an appropriate response when first a spiritual and cognitive surrender to God is present. It is possible to have an emotional reaction without this but this isn’t worship. You might feel really good in the middle of it, but without surrender, if I can be so bold, this is the opposite of worship; comparable to the Pharisees praying obnoxiously on the streets so that people would notice them.
Worship = The act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving oneself to God.
Let that sink in a little bit. This means that anytime you are in a place, situation, or atmosphere that facilitates worship with God and you are not giving yourself to Him, then you’re not worshiping. It doesn’t matter how many times you sing along to a “worship set” sit through a sermon or sign a tithe check because none of that is worship until you’ve given your heart to God.
In Psalm 51 David points out that burnt offerings and sacrifices aren’t what God is looking but rather a broken and contrite heart.
This definition of worship also means that anytime you give yourself to God, you’re worshiping no matter your location, circumstance or environment. And this is what we are being challenged to do.
In John chapter 4 Jesus talks about being thirsty for God, with a heart that worships in spirit and in truth. Church (Torch) should never ever be the only time that you consider yourself worshiping.
Worship is like water. You need to worship the same way you need to drink water.
Let me explain. God doesn’t have some psychological complex of needing to be patted on the back. It doesn’t lower His self-esteem when you don’t worship Him. You don’t have anything to offer God that he doesn’t already have. He doesn’t “NEED” you to worship Him.
He wants you to have a heart condition of a need to worship Him. You’re the one who needs to need to worship Him. Without a thirst for Him, without a hunger for His presence, you’re going to spiritually die.
Dehydration1 is the greatest enemy to any athlete. I don’t consider myself an athlete by any standard, but it’s a good analogy so go with me on it. 50-60% of your body weight is water. Think about that, divide your weight by half and that is how much of you is made of water. Without water you wouldn’t be alive. You know you can go several days without food but only a few without water.
Dehydration1 becomes fatal after only 15% of water loss and you start to feel the effects of it after only 2%. At that point athletes have a 30% decrease in performance. That severe of a detriment looses races, I’m not talking second or third place either. I mean looses.
God prepared me for this message by pointing out a two day period when I hadn’t had any water. I seriously sat down and could not remember a single drink in something like a 48 hour period. That was stupid. I contracted a serious migraine and drinking water right away didn’t help.
In the same way when you aren’t worshiping God, even the slightest bit your spiritual health takes a major hit. Keep in mind our definition of worship.
Worship = The act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving oneself to God.
So whenever you are not wholeheartedly giving yourself to God, your spiritual health is in trouble.
All of that to say: when are you not living for God? At what point in your week are you more concerned with what’s going on or how you feel than about giving your life to God? Because it’s those things that are gonna kill you. Little by little you are spiritually dehydrating yourself.
When my little sister was four, she had a serious infection in her bladder. She was on medication and underwent lots of treatment but the doctor's primary prescription was “Drink Water”. She hated it! My mother in her loving way tried everything. Ice cold/ or luke warm/ with a straw; she even bought tons of flavored water. But my sister fought it the whole time. Such a simple thing was her cure and she fought it so hard she could have died. This particular infection was prone to spread to the blood stream and had it remained in her system for much longer the issue would have been much more severe. Now, she has been recovered for several years but still to this day has a hard time just enjoying a glass of water.
Sometimes we treat worship the same way. But you need to worship God. If your life isn’t about God then it’s not worth living.
Wherever you are in class/at work/at home, God wants you to be taking little sips all day long. Have the attitude and follow through the act of giving your every moment to God.
Isaiah 55:1-3
Psalm 42:1-2
In Christ,
Mickey
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
This Is Our God
On and off for the past couple of weeks, I've had that old Chris Tomlin song floating around in my head, This Is Our God. One of the things I really like about that song is that it falls under the category of songs that Paul describes this way in Ephesians 5:19-20:
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
or this way in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
People have been singing songs since - well, forever, probably. While musical styles vary from culture to culture, there's not a music-less people anywhere in the world. Creation itself is singing God's praise, and we (as a part of God's creation) can't help it either. Oh, sure, we use music for other forms of expression as well, but it's always been a part of church culture since the church began.
Why is that? I think there's a lot of reasons, but I think one reason is that a melody can help you remember things better than you can without it. Musical intelligence, they call it. :) (I like that, but I'm biased.) :) So singing a song about God on a Sunday (or a Monday!) can help you remember the truth about who God is as the melody runs through your head later in the week. Knowing the same songs as people around you helps you remember that truth in community. That's a big piece of it, too, I think. And in some ways, songs can also help us remember other things by association - I mean, think about it - "that song" comes on the radio, and how quickly do we drift down memory lane?
Last night as I thought about the healing that God has done in my own life, and how much of it, in some ways, there still is to do - I remembered the words of a song that spoke great truth into my life at a time when I really needed to hear it. The song is called "Before You Call" and you can find the lyrics here. The words come from Isaiah 40:11 and 65:24:
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
While they are still speaking.... I love that. Even before we cry out to God, He is already listening, and He hears all of it, even before we're done explaining... We worship a God who knows us. This is no small thing.
Worship. Declaring the "worth-ship" of God. Getting our eyes off ourselves and remembering who God is, both in and of Himself, and in our lives. That's what I love most about that Chris Tomlin song... it reminds me of who God is to me, to our community, to the world - it reminds me of how big a God I serve, and how worthy He is of my love and adoration. And it reminds me to go to Him, because He is who He says He is:
a refuge for the poor and a shelter from the storm - Isaiah 25:4
a father to the orphan and a healer to the broken - Psalm 68:5, Malachi 4:2
a fountain for the thirsty and a lover for the lonely - Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 55:1, Psalm 68:6, John 3:16
and He is oh, so much more...
I was reading a couple of weeks ago in Isaiah, and these words jumped out at me:
Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? - Isaiah 50:2
The answer to that, of course, is no. He is God. Of course He can ransom us and rescue us. In fact, He has, is, and will. So let us trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on our God (Isaiah 50:10) - for as we sang together last night: He is more than enough.
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
or this way in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
People have been singing songs since - well, forever, probably. While musical styles vary from culture to culture, there's not a music-less people anywhere in the world. Creation itself is singing God's praise, and we (as a part of God's creation) can't help it either. Oh, sure, we use music for other forms of expression as well, but it's always been a part of church culture since the church began.
Why is that? I think there's a lot of reasons, but I think one reason is that a melody can help you remember things better than you can without it. Musical intelligence, they call it. :) (I like that, but I'm biased.) :) So singing a song about God on a Sunday (or a Monday!) can help you remember the truth about who God is as the melody runs through your head later in the week. Knowing the same songs as people around you helps you remember that truth in community. That's a big piece of it, too, I think. And in some ways, songs can also help us remember other things by association - I mean, think about it - "that song" comes on the radio, and how quickly do we drift down memory lane?
Last night as I thought about the healing that God has done in my own life, and how much of it, in some ways, there still is to do - I remembered the words of a song that spoke great truth into my life at a time when I really needed to hear it. The song is called "Before You Call" and you can find the lyrics here. The words come from Isaiah 40:11 and 65:24:
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
While they are still speaking.... I love that. Even before we cry out to God, He is already listening, and He hears all of it, even before we're done explaining... We worship a God who knows us. This is no small thing.
Worship. Declaring the "worth-ship" of God. Getting our eyes off ourselves and remembering who God is, both in and of Himself, and in our lives. That's what I love most about that Chris Tomlin song... it reminds me of who God is to me, to our community, to the world - it reminds me of how big a God I serve, and how worthy He is of my love and adoration. And it reminds me to go to Him, because He is who He says He is:
a refuge for the poor and a shelter from the storm - Isaiah 25:4
a father to the orphan and a healer to the broken - Psalm 68:5, Malachi 4:2
a fountain for the thirsty and a lover for the lonely - Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 55:1, Psalm 68:6, John 3:16
and He is oh, so much more...
I was reading a couple of weeks ago in Isaiah, and these words jumped out at me:
Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? - Isaiah 50:2
The answer to that, of course, is no. He is God. Of course He can ransom us and rescue us. In fact, He has, is, and will. So let us trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on our God (Isaiah 50:10) - for as we sang together last night: He is more than enough.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
i live this for
i am a thief and a liar. i have taken what was not given to me and claimed it as mine. i live this for self. i act as though all i know is striving for self gain. i follow what leads to nothing and ignore the effect of what is ahead. i find myself clinging to everything for momentary reprieve. when endless relief is right in front of me. the warmness of a light on a cold night directly in front of me, i merely glance at. tonight i have found the cold emptyness because i have lived this for self.
the lies my words make match the ones i hear and believe. these things that fulfill temporarily without fully filling. i neglect what is shattering the silence saying to me, "help is here, follow and believe." yet i still turn to what is empty and leading me to nothing. i walk the road with an end when an endless way is in front of me. i find only what i wish to find. i envision only what i hope to see. when the reality of what could be is much greater. i forget the unending hope that's always abided. the love chasing me that has always befriended me, seeking me. for this love only can provide. this love only satisfies.
from the mouth of this love come words of truth. my path finds light with this love only. my heart finds pleasure with this love only. my soul finds rest with this love only. my life finds purpose with this love only. no longer will i live this for self. no longer will i follow what is momentary. for this life is fleeting in itself. now my heart will seek the love and my soul will yearn for the truth, that only this love brings. no longer i live this for self, rather this love.
the lies my words make match the ones i hear and believe. these things that fulfill temporarily without fully filling. i neglect what is shattering the silence saying to me, "help is here, follow and believe." yet i still turn to what is empty and leading me to nothing. i walk the road with an end when an endless way is in front of me. i find only what i wish to find. i envision only what i hope to see. when the reality of what could be is much greater. i forget the unending hope that's always abided. the love chasing me that has always befriended me, seeking me. for this love only can provide. this love only satisfies.
from the mouth of this love come words of truth. my path finds light with this love only. my heart finds pleasure with this love only. my soul finds rest with this love only. my life finds purpose with this love only. no longer will i live this for self. no longer will i follow what is momentary. for this life is fleeting in itself. now my heart will seek the love and my soul will yearn for the truth, that only this love brings. no longer i live this for self, rather this love.
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