Authentic Worship

Say what you will about King David, the man knew how to worship. Though not all the Psalms were written by him, you can hear his passion, his joy and his real struggles as he pours his heart out before the Holy Maker of the Universe.

He got so caught up in worship at one point he became a bit undignified in the eyes of his wife. (2 Samuel 6:14-23) Somehow I can't see this happening on a Sunday morning!

Sad.

Not that I am promoting that we become "undignified". No, what I am want is for the body of Christ to be REAL! Authentic! Genuine!

Sadly, I don't see that often. Believe me, I am speaking to myself here too! Most of us are probably guilty of wandering into our worship services late, distracted as we try to find a seat. How many of us look around a bit before getting into the "worship?"

Then there is the stop/start feature. It goes something like this: A song, shake some hands, announce a few things, take up an offering with some "special" music, then sing a few more songs before the message. There are variations on the theme but I guarantee most of our services emulate this pattern though the order may vary.

I can't picture Jesus and the apostles doing this:

As the crowd gathers on the hillside, James leads the group in a song. A few of the people come to the hillside late. Then Peter gets up to make a few announcements. "Don't forget that next Sunday night there will be a potluck fundraiser for the 70! Also, make sure you join our youth for the camel wash for Christ! Now brother John will lead us in a special song while Andrew, Judas and Matthew pass the offering basket!" Following this, James returns to lead a couple more songs before Jesus comes to deliver the message.

Again I am not being critical. I have participated in this myself. I am not at all satisfied though. I want authentic worship. The pour my heart out, singing, praying, can't get enough of Jesus type worship.

I want songs from the heart! I want poems and prayers from a life fully turned to the Saviour. I don't care if the songs we sing are written by the latest hot worship band or the postal worker down the street. I don't even care if we sing because I know Worship is more than just music! (Tell that to the person sitting in the back row wishing for more hymns while the young person up front wants more upbeat music and the worship leader just wants to PRAISE!)

I want my life to be a worship song to the King of Kings. Anyone want to join me?

Let God Speak!

I was reading 2 Samuel 7:2-17 this past week and noticed something kind of interesting. It's a passage of assumption.

David calls in Nathan the prophet and basically says, "Hey I want to build God a temple." Nathan, knowing that God has blessed, anointed and appointed David, said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you." (2 Samuel 7:3)

Now this is where the assumption plays in. Nathan did not consult God. The rest of this passage is God telling Nathan, "Did I ask for this? I could have spoken this request a long time ago." God then goes on to instruct Nathan what he should tell David re. the temple. In a nutshell, "Solomon will build it not you!"

This whole section got me wondering.....do we consult God enough? When planning ministry items do we go before the throne to get God's take on things? Sadly not always. It's easy to assume a ministry that is blessed, anointed and appointed is doing God's will in seemingly good things. However we can't just assume God wants us to do what we want to do for Him!

Assumption does not supersede His direction. I know I need to seek Him before launching out into new ministry. This section was a good reminder for me.

Just A Thought #9

Worship With Abandon

Worship. All believers have their own ideas of what worship means and how it is best done. This is not another “how-to” lesson, but rather, a call to worship our Lord, the Creator of everything.

It does not matter if you sing hymns, choruses or the latest modern worship song, whether accapella, or accompanied by a piano, bass guitar, tambourine or drums. It does not matter if you lift your hands, sit, stand or kneel. What matters is your heart. What is the attitude of your heart? Not just during designated times of worship, but in every area of your life.

Worship is a lifestyle. King David is an example of this. He worshiped the Lord with his whole heart. In one of my favorite passages of Scripture, the Ark of the Lord is being brought back to Jerusalem. As it moves, the Scriptures report that King David danced before the Lord with all his might and arranged for sacrifices to be made and trumpets blown. He was worshiping with his whole heart. He did not care what others thought. His own wife thought he was crazy for being so undignified and not acting like a king. David’s response was perfect. “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” (2 Sam. 6: 21b-22a)

Was David showing false humility? No he truly did not care what anyone but God thought at that point. You can also see David’s heart of worship throughout the Psalms.

It does not matter what others think. We are instructed to worship the King of Kings. Like David we should focus on God and not those around us. When we worship the Lord in song He should be our every thought. We have so much to praise Him for. From the earth and everything in it, to our very lives, our family. Look around at all of the beauty. The mountains, rivers, and oceans are testimony to Him. The clouds, sun and moon speak of His creative powers. He is awesome. We should be in awe of Him daily! There is nothing beyond His ability or power.

So how do we worship as a lifestyle? Obedience is one key. If we believe in Him and that His Word is true should we not honor Him by keeping His Word in our heart? Another word for worship is honor. We should honor Him with our words, thoughts, deeds and life! In everything we do we need to consider whether it will bring glory to God or not. Our highest goal should not be to attain a level of “holiness” as we worship in song, but to allow the “wow” of knowing God to saturate our everyday life. Our worship should become a flow of communion with our Father, where we can drink anytime, rather it’s during our morning commute to work, while cleaning the bathroom, or hiking in the mountains.

I encourage you to worship like King David. Worship with abandon. Don’t worry about what anyone but the Father thinks. Fall in love with Him again. Rediscover Him as a little child does. Re-capture the “Wow!”

Just A Thought #1

A Passionate Love Story

The Bible is filled with passion. King David is a model of that fact. When David acts, whether for good or evil, he does it whole-heartedly and without reservation. When you read the Psalms David wrote you can sense that passion as well. From the confidence of Psalm 23 to the anguish of Psalm 51 you can sense David's passion throughout the Psalms. When David dance before the Ark in 2 Samuel 6:14-16; 21-22 you knew this was a man passionate about God.

I wrote this at 2 am after awaking one night and feeling the presence of the Lord very strongly....

We never forget our first love. The thought of it always brings a hint of a smile to our lips. I gave myself to my first love and we are still together today.

Our first embrace sent chills through me. The times we spent together consumed every one of my thoughts. Walking together, sharing, our time seemed to go on forever. The love, the passionate love, seemed to burn through my every being.

Then, slowly, the embers began to fade. My passionate love began to cool. I am ashamed to admit it but it was entirely my fault. I did not want to spend as much time together. Others caught my eye and I began to chase after them instead.

I tried to keep my first love as well. I was cheating on my love ,who was extremely jealous and yet I did not care. It took me many years to realize my mistake and yet my love forgave me. I asked and received my love's forgiveness. Tentatively I began to seek after my first love again.

Slow walks together, sharing my heart and listening to the heart of my one true love. The romance is consuming me again. After all this time the passion is becoming a flaming desire. I long for my love. This time I am giving myself completely.

Jesus Christ, the object of my desire. I missed so much while chasing after others. He has shown His passionate love for me...He still does. I feel His embrace, I feel His kisses, I want to know Him more.

Take me away with you Lord!

We as God's children, have the opportunity to share His love with the world. We are a peculiar people....ones that God called for His glory. We should be consumed with the things of God. The passion David displayed is possible in our own life as well. God should consume us...be our all in all, our everything. Will you let Him be your everything?