Hey guys! Last Thursday evening, the praise team and I were rehearsing for Sunday morning’s songs, and we had a bunch of fun! Anyway, we had new members applying, and old members observing again, and it was grand! More than that is that after rehearsing, Jeff Ayanco started playing a solo on the bass by Abraham Laboriel, something he and I loved as bassists, entitled I See the Lord by Don Moen and Ron Kenoly. This song actually came from Isaiah 6: 1-8. What a beautiful song!
We started talking about the passage which particularly talks about a REAL worship experience all of must seek when we come together on Sunday mornings.
First is a Confrontation. When Isaiah saw the Lord, he described God as highly exalted, that creation worshipped Him and that His glory filled the temple. In parallel, we as Christians need to see our worship as this, primarily: that the Lord’s glory is what we need to magnify. Not our music, our church, and especially not the worship team members!
Next is a Confession. Isaiah’s words in previous chapters to the other nations were, “Woe is to you…Woe is to you…”. Everything was against them. But when he got exposed to God’s presence, he said: “Woe is to ME!” When we are exposed to God’s glory, and His holiness, we must realize that we are undeserving of the honor of worshipping Him! We are sinners! Our unworthiness and filth are all exposed. When we worship God, let’s make it also a time of repentance and humility before the Lord.
The next major thing that we must seek is a Cleansing. We all know the verse 1 John 1:9, when we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to CLEANSE us from all our unrighteousness. It is true because when Isaiah confessed his sinful nature, the Lord sent an angel to cleanse him immediately. No promises, no questions, but only because he realized his sinfulness and confessed them to God.
The next thing we should be looking for in a worship service is a Call. We could “worship” all we want, get the high and the kick, but always and always, we are confronted with the Word of God and He calls us to obey His words! When we sing: “One Way, Jesus, You’re the only one that I could live for!” Our part is to obey the words by really living for Jesus! When we sing “Holy is the Lord!” we are called to live for a holy God. “Be holy as your Father in heaven is holy.”
The last thing is a Commission. The Lord asks: “Whom will I send, who will represent Me?” It is not enough to encounter, confess our sins, be cleaned, and be called to follow Him. We actually need to be sent to OBEY His words. This is the application. Our worship actually is proven out of the church doors. When we actually live the words we hear and sing.
Next time we will talk about Incorporating Faith in Corporate Worship. It’s a real cool topic because how do we have faith in worship, to please God? Remember the verse: “For without faith it is impossible to please God.”?
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