This coming Sunday our Essentials topic will be worship. So leading up to Sunday, I’ll be posting some things to think about regarding worship.
Worship is a many-faceted experience for the believer, and the “how” is not as important as the fact that we worship.
2 Cor 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
But we need to realize that a heart of worship is not brought about by having good praise music. In fact we must be careful here. As a church that is gifted musically, we run the risk of falling into the trap of becoming "connoisseurs of worship”. That's when we start thinking “I like/don’t like that song,” or “I like/don’t like the way he/she sings,” or “I like it better when _____ (fill in the blank!) leads the worship”. If we are not careful, we can idolize the music of worship, which is just as idolatrous as bowing to an image of a pagan god.
One of our well known songs “The Heart of Worship” was the product of just such an error. Matt Redman was part of a church in England that was growing, and as you might expect the music was awesome! The guys realized one day that the music was part of the reason the church was growing: People were coming to hear the awesome music. Matt and his team made a courageous decision, "We have created an idol with our music. We are going to stop playing all music in our corporate worship until the Holy Spirit clears us of our conviction about idolatry."
Essentially, he said "we're going to put ourselves out of work.” So the music stopped. I’m sure some left, but many saw the error of their ways and stayed, and prayed, and read the word, and grew. The church even continued to grow because these folks were seeking something real, something beyond a good worship set and emotional times in the music. The were seeking the LORD. At the end of it – Matt wrote “Heart of Worship”, and the theme of the song is “It’s not about the music, Lord it’s about you!”
This is not what everyone should do, stop the music, but it is a good example for us in that we should be in a continual state of examination of our heart. We want to ensure that we are not seeking an emotional experience, or a state of spiritual bliss ... or anything else ...except God
A heart of worship is a byproduct of our love for the Lord. If He is in us, and we are in Him, then our fruit will be apparent, including a desire to worship Him: A heart of worship is had by developing a relationship with the object of our worship
2 Cor 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
But we need to realize that a heart of worship is not brought about by having good praise music. In fact we must be careful here. As a church that is gifted musically, we run the risk of falling into the trap of becoming "connoisseurs of worship”. That's when we start thinking “I like/don’t like that song,” or “I like/don’t like the way he/she sings,” or “I like it better when _____ (fill in the blank!) leads the worship”. If we are not careful, we can idolize the music of worship, which is just as idolatrous as bowing to an image of a pagan god.
One of our well known songs “The Heart of Worship” was the product of just such an error. Matt Redman was part of a church in England that was growing, and as you might expect the music was awesome! The guys realized one day that the music was part of the reason the church was growing: People were coming to hear the awesome music. Matt and his team made a courageous decision, "We have created an idol with our music. We are going to stop playing all music in our corporate worship until the Holy Spirit clears us of our conviction about idolatry."
Essentially, he said "we're going to put ourselves out of work.” So the music stopped. I’m sure some left, but many saw the error of their ways and stayed, and prayed, and read the word, and grew. The church even continued to grow because these folks were seeking something real, something beyond a good worship set and emotional times in the music. The were seeking the LORD. At the end of it – Matt wrote “Heart of Worship”, and the theme of the song is “It’s not about the music, Lord it’s about you!”
This is not what everyone should do, stop the music, but it is a good example for us in that we should be in a continual state of examination of our heart. We want to ensure that we are not seeking an emotional experience, or a state of spiritual bliss ... or anything else ...except God
A heart of worship is a byproduct of our love for the Lord. If He is in us, and we are in Him, then our fruit will be apparent, including a desire to worship Him: A heart of worship is had by developing a relationship with the object of our worship
Pastor Clay
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