Isaiah 6 Worship

We Must Gather Together

2010-01-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

"Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He has inaugurated for us, through the curtain (that is His flesh); and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Hebrews 10:19-25
I often think of how amazing it is that we as imperfect sinful beings, have the right to come before a holy and just God to worship Him. We can also come with boldness due to the sacrifice and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That alone makes me want to shout with joy unspeakable. There are two things listed here that are requirements for coming to worship. Our hearts must be sprinkled clean and bodies washed in pure water. Because God is holy, we must prepare ourselves by prayer and through the work of the Holy Spirit to come before a Holy God.
We must also be concerned for one another in love and good works. What an awesome time to come together in love, encourage one another to be prepared for worship, and to experience the presence of a Holy and loving God. Through that worship we are empowered and strengthened to do the good works that we are set apart to do. It is an amazing cycle created by a Sovereign God.
I believe that day is drawing near that either Christ will return or it will become more and more difficult to assemble together. Let us not forsake this privilege, this honor of gathering before God’s throne. As a result we will see Psalm 40:3 come to life, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:3

Another king has died

2009-07-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

This past week a king of sorts died. Every channel on the TV played pictures of people crying and weeping. Vigils were held, danced began, concerts were planned. A memorial was held where thousands and thousands of people packed a stadium to see the gold casket of this king and to sing his praises. Many more lined up outside just to be near this mortal man who had passed. The news will continue to document the death and aftermath of this man, however, he will remain dead. Yet in his death he will be immortalized and worshipped for years to come as a king of his craft despite his sinful and troubled life.

2000 years ago another king died. Not many praised Him, in fact this King was hated and mocked. He died a public death. and ever since then people have tried in vain to snuff out His work and His memory. This king though did not stay dead. He is alive and preparing a home for me and working today in my life.

What would happen if the children of the world would get into a spiritual frenzy of the same proportions for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That they would weep in remembering His deeds. That they would line up for hours just to be in His presence. God for give the passions and priorities of a lost and dying world. God forgive the Christians who no longer seem to care.

O Come let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God, our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah. As in the day of massah in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me, they tried me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest." Psalm 95

Getting ready for the big game.

2009-05-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have a friend from my days in Seminary that when you ask him about worship he would say, “I am just practicing for when I get to heaven”. I have heard another person say when speaking of worship services, “were just practicing for the big game”. He was a big sports nut. This got me thinking. Our role on earth is to carry out the gospel and to prepare ourselves for the day that we meet Jesus in heaven and spend eternity worshipping Him.

Think about it. When an athlete prepares for a big game does he just go in unprepared, not concentrating, or not focused on the task at hand? The answer is, I hope not. He or she spends countless hours practicing and honing their skills so that during the game the sport will come naturally. Many athletes have a routine that they carry out or certain music that they play to get them “in the zone”. This is true in the Christian life when it comes to worship. We must practice and prepare so that worship will come naturally when it really counts. We must be so prepared that in the heat of spiritual battle worship will flow without thinking, so that it becomes who we are. 1 Corinthians 9:24 tells us to run in such a way that we will obtain the prize set before us.

There is one way that the Christian walk is different than the sports figure. We do not have the liberty of knowing when the big game will start for us. The sports figure can have down time because he knows when the next game will start. Only God knows how much practice time we have here on earth. Job 14:5 reads that “the number of his months is left with You, and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.” We don’t have the luxury to be relaxed in our preparation for and living of this Christian life in preparation for the eternal life to come. I don’t want to walk into the big game unprepared or having fewer skills to use or rewards to give in the presence of the God who created me. So the next time you go to worship, think about the big game and let’s work on the fundamentals of the game to prepare ourselves for the day we go home!

Let it rain

2009-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring watering the earth.” Hosea 6:3

It is rare that a week will go by that I do not hear a prayer for revival. I know that these prayers are lifted up from Godly people with a sincere heart. However, many times we Christians pray this prayer and then sit and wait or go about our daily living of life and wait as if revival is going to come to our front porch by way of Fed Ex or UPS.

God has promised that he would come to us like the rain. Like a steady downpour that slowly and completely saturates all that we are. Are we to sit around and just wait for it? I think not. Recently there was a storm approaching that promised a lot of rain. I noticed as I was driving to work something interesting about the trees. I am no scientist or botanist so I am just going to give you the layman’s description of how it looked to me. It seemed as though the leaves of the trees were turned upward. It seemed as though the leaves were positioning themselves in such a way to be in the best place to receive the rain.

The verse above states that we must press on to know the Lord. We need to be active at doing His work, studying His Word, and positioning ourselves in the best place to meet the downpour. The Lord will come, we can count on it, but will we be in the right place to reap the joys and benefits of revival on His terms.

Let me put it this way. When I was in Brazil for a mission trip I notice rather quickly that in the jungle, a rain shower would come at around 2 to 4 in the afternoon just about every day. You could see the rain in the horizon and get ready for it pass over. It was the most refreshing time of the day because it gave us a break from the heat and dry wind. One day I felt it was more important to go inside and have a coke. I knew that the time for rain was approaching but I decided that I would go outside when I was ready. The previous few days the rain came late so I could get ready for it later. When I made it outside I realized that the rain had passed early and I had missed it because I wanted it to be on my terms. I missed out on being refreshed that day. We must always be ready, always preparing ourselves, or positioning ourselves to be ready for revival. We must also accept it on God’s terms and in His timing. If we are in this way obedient, He promised that we will be refreshed and renewed by a saturating downpour of His presence.

Acceptable Worship

2009-03-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Picture This. .. The crowd has gone…. Just a few remain ...Suddenly the religious leaders throw a woman to the ground before Jesus. Clearly this woman also has a reputation. They demand she be stoned according to the law. Jesus leans down and begins to write in the sand. Everyone is confused. Jesus then stands and says, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.” Your mind races to all the sin in your life. What authority to forgive the sins of man! What compassion and love to come to earth for this purpose! Jesus commands her to leave her life of sin. (John 8:11) Surely He is the Son of God!

This story has always intrigued me. I know that the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus. Yet Jesus knew their heart and he knew the heart of the woman. For her to be forgiven she must have been repentant. He told her to go and sin no more. What an awesome charge from a loving God. One song that the ladies are singing this Easter is when I fall down. Not if I fall. When I fall down. Jesus knows that we will fail and still He forgives. How then should be worship?

To answer this, let’s look at another encounter Jesus had with a woman. In Luke 7:36-39 Jesus is in one of the Pharisees house. His name is Simon and he has invited Jesus in to entrap him. A woman comes with some very costly perfume and pours it over Jesus' feet and wipes them with her hair. Verse 37 tells us that this woman from the city was known as a sinner. Jesus accepts her worship and rebukes those who do not. Jesus knows her heart and accepts her worship. She gives as an awesome picture of what our worship should be. She comes humbly and with great love because she knew what she was saved from. Simon came with motives. Simon did not offer anything to God. He was not repentant. The woman realized her need to worship the Savior because of His holiness. Therefore, her praise was accepted. Simon's was rejected.

Living Your Lyrics

2009-02-18T09:20:00.001-08:00

Does your life provide a clear reflection of the godly lyrics that you sing when you worship? What do you think about when you are singing those lyrics? Are you thinking about your voice, how good you sound or how bad you sound? Are you thinking about your neighbor or your surroundings? Better yet, what does your daily life reflect? Does it play out the Godly lyrics that you sing on Sunday?

If Christ is in your heart, you must reflect Him and the new life you have received. This is especially true in worship, however, too often what is seen is a reflection of earth, life, struggles, and or sin. When a non-believer sees this reflection they will not desire the freedom of Salvation. Let's go to the Word.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing." Galatians 2:19b - 21. Many of us that have been crucified with Christ are trying to carry around the dead body of our former selves for many reasons most of which are personal to the believer.

Music is the least important part of worship. The most important part of worship is the life of the one worshipping. Is it in order? Is it reflecting the Father? Keith Green said it best, " The only minister to whom the Lord will say, 'Well done thy good and faithful servant,' is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom the music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One has to be a minister's most important goal"

What is your most important goal when it comes to worship?

I Am A Prisoner

2009-02-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

This week I was reading in Ephesians 4 verse 1 which reads as follows, "I, therefore a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received." The first sentence of this chapter caught my attention. The version that I was reading stated that Paul is a prisoner for the Lord. I find it interesting that it does not say that he is a prisoner by or of the Lord. We must choose to be a slave of Christ. A prisoner bound by the truths and life that makes up a true life of following Christ.

We have a choice of whether or not to become a prisoner for the Lord. We have a choice of whether or not we will stay in that state. This means that we give up certain rights and privileges. We give up the right to determine where our path will take us. We give up the right to certain styles and personal preferences in the realm of what ushers us into the presence of the Lord in worship. If we are a true prisoner for the Lord all things ( and Music) that is of the Lord should spur us to Isaiah 6 worship of bowing before His throne and begging Him to forgive us and send us out.

Some of us have the mindset that we are prisoners on work release. We do our own thing during the week but report in on Sundays to check in with our parole officer that is getting us out of eternal separation. I pray that i am locked into the presence of the Lord, the will of the Lord and that no key will be made that will release me from this holy bondage.

Mighty To Save

2009-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

When Abigail and I are rough housing in the living room, something interesting happens. She will run full speed and throw herself into my arms. Sometimes she will jump off the couch with abandon. Why? She expects me to catch her. She blindly trusts that I will not let her get hurt. The first time she jumped into my arms from the couch I had to encourage her. "It’s okay, daddy won’t let you fall". She gingerly slid off the couch into my waiting arms. The next time after only saying, "its okay", jumped a little harder. Now she jumps with all her strength. When I catch her I give her a kiss on the cheek and she climbs back up and says, "Again, again". A couple of times she tried to jump when I was not there and she bumped her knee. I immediately picker her up, kissed it to make it better, and set her on the couch to jump and conquer her fear of jumping again.
No matter how many times many of us have jumped off the couch of life and been caught by the loving arms of the Savior, many of us are still sitting on the couch thinking, "I don't know if He will catch me this time." We sing that God is "Mighty to Save". We sing that we stand on the solid rock of Christ. We sing that He can move the mountains, that He has conquered death and the grave, but we live and worship as if the Lord might not be there the next time we need Him. I Corinthians 15:57-58, tells us, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” What if we lived as if we blindly trusted in the loving arms of God to be there every step and every leap? What if we worship with such passion and trust?

Mighty to Save

2008-09-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

As the music minister I spend hours upon hours previewing new music. This past week I came across a new praise chorus called "Mighty to Save". I really spoke to me so the praise team is practicing this very song to sing for church. As with most songs, it hit upon my heart a message about worship in our church.

The first verse is as follows, *Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave." At the end of just the first verse I was shouting "AMEN"! Psalm 106:8 tells us that "He (God) saved them (us) for His name sake, to make His mighty power known." There is one problem. I rarely see more than one or two people worshipping as if they actually believe the words printed above. Are they really saved or so complacent that they no longer see the power of who God is and what He has done.

Later in the song we sing, "Shine the light and let the whole world see, We're singing for the glory of the risen King Jesus." You know what a major cause for the problems in our towns and homes. WE are no longer letting our light shine. Why? Maybe we have lost our passion. Maybe we have forgotten what it means to be a sinner saved by grace. Our God is mighty to save. Why do we not live our lives like we still believe that? Do we care anymore or are we just satisfied with saving ourselves?

No Such Thing As Proud Worship

2008-03-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Easter is just around the corner. It is a time that many turn their attention to church. Next, we will have what we call revival. If it is like many other meetings it will have nothing to do with revival. It will have nothing to do with a renewal of a sense of God's holiness verses our sin and what that realization should cause us to do and be. Ron Owens, author of Return to Worship, is quoted as saying, "No revival in history has begun with a self-satisfied people." Why do we not experience revival? Becuase our worship is too proud.
God want's to give us grace, and blessings through His presence. The reason that we don't experience it is becuase we don't humble ourselves. Let me show you several scriptures that tell us that we must humble ourselves to experience true worship.
"and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, Then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 We find here that the first step in the process is humility. Then comes prayer and worship, then repentance, and only then will come forgiveness and healing.
"It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud." Proverbs 16:19 Anything you may receive by being proud is of no worth. Only that which is received through humility will be of spiritual worth to your soul.
"But the greatest among you shall be your servant, Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Matthew 23:11-12 If you don't humble yourself, God will eventually take care of it for you. If you wish to be exalted before the throne of God, enter with humility as your banner.
"But He {God} gives greater grace, Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble". James 4:6 God will bless greater than anything or anyone in or out of this world. Only the humble, however will receive this grace.
Finally if nothing else we have the example of Jesus Christ in how to worship God. "but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Phillipians 2:7-8 How obedient are you in worship? Christ died for you therefore you have nothing to be proud of. Christ paid your price for sin. How proud can you be in worship?

Checkoff list for worship.

2008-02-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today my attention was drawn to I Thessalonians 5:16-22. As I was reading this I discovered something amazing. These verses provide for us a checklist for Sunday mornings. If you are like me, with my bad memory, I have to make a list of things that have to be done during the week or I will forget something. This checklist is something that can help you remember what it takes to experience and live true worship on Sunday. I have provided you with the outline and the verses. Study this checklist and put it into practice. I think the results will amaze you.

I. Rejoice Always. v16
1. Praise the Lord in all circumstances
2. Make the decision that "Today I will worship."
a. worship is a choice.
b. it doesn't always come naturally.
II. Pray Constantly v.17
1. Be ready to stand against the devil who will stop at nothing to hinder or destroy your worship.
2. Spiritual warfare. (Ephesians 6:12)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
III. Give thanks in Everything, for this is God's will for you. v.18
1. Praise GOd for your circumstances no matter what they are.
2. This is getting your heart right before God.
3. Recognize God's holiness and authority.
a. He is Holy, His plan is Holy
b. praise Him for blessings and for suffering.
4. This will open the door to amazing times of worship.
IV. Quench not the Spirit. v. 19
1. Don't block what the Spirit wants you to do.
a. if the Sprit impresses you to raise your hands and you don’t you are quenching the Spirit. If you don’t sing because you have had a bad day or think your voice is bad you are quenching the Spirit.
2. Don't do anything that would hinder the work of the Spirit.
a. If you do anything in worship for your own glory you are quenching the Spirit.
V. Don't Despise the prophesies. v 20
1. Pay attention to the preaching of God's Word
2. Don't just tolerate the sermon.
a. Take notes, soak it in, in some instances interact.
VI. Test all things, hold on to what is good. v21
1. Test the sermon with Scripture
2. if it is found to be good, live by it.
VII. Stay away from evil v.22
1. Live by God's Word.
2. Avoid sin until the next time of worship.

Too Proud for True Worship

2008-02-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

"God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit in me. Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways, and sinners will return to You." Psalm 51:10-13 This is the prayer in the heart of most Christians as they enter into a worship service. They pray that the Lord will comfort them. They pray that the Lord will give them peace and joy. They pray for a willing spirit to serve the Lord. I believe that most Christians are missing a couple of vital steps in their worship and this is why they do not experience true worship or live changing revival. Most Christians are missing verse 1-9 in Psalm 51. I believe that many Christians have become too proud to see God for who He is and see themselves for who they really are.

To experience true worship we need to take a four step plan that is shown in Psalm 51. This plan is to realize, recognize, request, and return. The first step is to realize. The first thing that we fail to do is to see God for who He really is. God is Holy, perfect, lofty, just, righteous, the list can go on and on and on. God's throne is always described in Scripture as being high and lifted up. We must also realize that sin cannot be in the presence of holiness. God must be and is just when dealing with sin, thus the need for a Savior. David realized this as we see in verse 4-5 of Psalm 51 as he states that God is blameless when He judges us.

That brings us to the next step, to recognize. We need to recognize our sin for what it is. Imagine the whiteness of Gods throne, "as no launderer can whiten" (Mark 9:3) Imagine your life next to that throne. The purity of God brings out the imperfections of our life. Verse 5 tells us that we are sinful from the time of birth. It is only when we see God for who He really is and see ourselves for who we really are that we can move on to the third step, which is to request. We must then request that the Lord forgive our sins. David request that the Lord blot out his sin and turn His face from his iniquities. It is at this point that we must pray that the Lord would create in us a clean heart. Then we have the right to pray that the Lord would rain down His Spirit on us to give us Joy of Salvation and power to serve.

We must not stop there. The final step is to return. We are to return the joy and power of the Holy Spirit unto the Lord in the form of praise and service to God. We must as David pray that the Lord give us a willing Spirit to reach those who are not saved. If we follow this pattern, we will live a life of worship.

Rich Young Ruler's Worship

2008-01-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

“And he said to Him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” (Commandments) “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” Mark 10:20-22

I realize the first implication of this parable is the subject of salvation. The rich young ruler wanted to follow Christ but his money and riches kept him from accepting the free gift of eternal life. In the margin of the study bible I am using it states that giving away the riches is not a demand for all Christians but a remedy to all those who share the same spiritual problem of this man. His wealth stood in the way of his true, “sold out” loyalty to Jesus. (pun intended)
I do not feel that it is wrong or too far-fetched to glean from this parable a message for believers concerning worship. Do you realize that in Pineville there are more than 5 Baptist churches within 20 minutes? Many of these churches have differing worship styles. My purpose for pointing this out is to say that we have a wealth of choices when it comes to where we will worship. We can choose the place that meets our style desires for worship. Another point is this, do you realize the amount of songs that are available for use in worship today. The Internet, cheaper copywriting, and increasing publishing by large churches have flooded our ministry with vast numbers of worship opportunities. The new 2008 Baptist Hymnal has broken copy write barriers that will bring back hymns from the 56’, 71’, and Broadman hymnals. We can easily find the particular songs that we want to worship to.

All of this has led to a sickness in our worship service. To many of our churches want services that keep our people happy and comfortable. This is okay to some extent because people need comfort at times to rest in the presence of the Lord. But constant comfort breeds all kinds of problems. It is much like the idea of experiencing pain or suffering as a Christian. If we never new suffering we would never know grace. If we never knew pain, we would never know the affect of Gods healing and love. It is the same with our worship. If we are never forced to worship with songs we don’t know or styles we don’t particularly like, we will become lazy. We will miss the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts will harden to change or the unfamiliar and therefore be less affected by God’s presence both in those times and in times of familiar songs. What we need is a good blend of comfort and discomfort in corporate worship. If we do not have this we risk becoming like the rich young ruler who was unable to sell out and experience the true presence of Christ because he was unwilling to give up what he felt was important. We never know, it could have only been for a short time. Or maybe the riches of choosing to follow Christ no matter the comfort or cost would out weigh the riches he had.
Next time you face a song in the worship service that you don’t know that well or that is “not your style” think of the rich young ruler. Are you going to sell your desires and be in the Lord’s presence, or are you going to focus on your desires and wishes (riches) and miss out on being with the Lord?

Living Sacrifice

2008-01-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2
When we are saved by the grace of God, we become worshippers of God. Every day of our lives is then preparation for our eternal occupation of wholehearted worship to the Father. Worship is not something we feel or an act that is experienced. Worship is not singing, lifting hands, dancing, praying, or closing our eyes. Worship is what we do with our bodies in everyday life. How we live our daily lives determine whether or not we are worshipping. It also determines the outcome of the times that we come together corporately to sit before God’s throne to be refreshed for going out to do good works, or what we Baptist call a church service.
What are your daily actions saying about your level of worship to God? Is your worship purely inward and abstract? Does your worship express itself through daily acts of service?

Welcome

2008-01-28T19:10:00.000-08:00

My twin @ rbcpastor enligtened me to the world of blogging. I believe that we all play a part in helping others know what it means to worship our Savior. I am excited about this new way of communication. I believe that it can be used to generate new ideas and draw us closer to the Lord. This particular blog will feature thoughts and ideas concerning worship both private and corporate. I pray that you will be blessed by reading them as I have been blessed with them in my service to God.